Cover of The Portion of Labor by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman Ebook The Portion of Labor
Ebook · Fractal Press

The Portion of Labor

Author
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
Language
English
Length
482 pages
ISBN
9781836101840
Published
18 February 2026
Imprint
Fractal Press
  • family conflict
  • poverty
  • childhood
  • resilience
  • domestic struggle
  • social class
  • identity
  • emotional turmoil
  • coming of age
  • independence

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Description

The novel centers on Ellen Brewster, a sensitive young girl growing up amid poverty, family conflict, and emotional neglect. As tensions between her parents and relatives intensify, Ellen feels unwanted despite her deep love for them. Her imaginative inner life contrasts sharply with harsh realities, and a painful domestic crisis drives her to run away, beginning a journey that explores labor, identity, endurance, and a woman’s struggle for dignity.

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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