A late novel of a Connecticut hill town in the early nineteenth century, drawing on Stowe's own childhood. It follows Dolly Cushing, the lively daughter of the local minister, as she grows up amid church life, family warmth and political quarrels over the place of religion in public affairs. Stowe recalls her father's household with humour and affection. The book gives an intimate, nostalgic picture of New England and the changes coming to it.