Cover of An Alabaster Box by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman Ebook An Alabaster Box
Ebook · Fractal Press

An Alabaster Box

Author
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
Language
English
Length
248 pages
ISBN
9781836101758
Published
15 February 2026
Imprint
Fractal Press
  • small-town life
  • minister
  • poverty
  • church fair
  • moral conflict
  • social expectations
  • ambition
  • romance
  • community dynamics
  • mystery

Description

Set in the village of Brookville, the novel follows young minister Wesley Elliot as he struggles with poverty, ambition, and emotional uncertainty. As a church fair is organized to fund his salary, Wesley faces romantic tension with Fanny Dodge and growing unease over his place in the community. The sudden arrival of the enigmatic Lydia Orr, who buys the entire fair, disrupts village life and signals deeper conflicts ahead.

Author

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) grew up in Randolph, Massachusetts, and wrote the New England village as if every parlour were a theatre of will. A New England Nun is the famous short weather of a woman who will not be hurried into marriage; Pembroke is the same climate at novel length — pride, church, and a stubbornness that can freeze a town. She later took the Howells Medal. The regional is never small in her hands. Thrift has a pulse.

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