The Wide House: A Novel

The Wide House is a family saga set in the decade before the Civil War, following two Irish cousins in Grandeville, New York. Stuart Coleman, a shopkeeper, dreams of building a large white house and starting a family. Janie Cauder is a young widow with four children, deeply attached to only one of them. When Janie arrives in town, she and Stuart begin a romance. However, Stuart's ambition and self-doubt lead him to abandon Janie for the daughter of a business rival. Janie responds to her disappointment by mistreating her children and seeking new romantic relationships, without success. As the nation grows increasingly hostile toward outsiders, Stuart and Janie's inability to love creates lasting damage for themselves and their descendants. The novel offers a detailed portrait of American life during this turbulent historical period.