Leaving Rock Harbor - by Rebecca Chace (Paperback)

About the Book

"Leaving Rock Harbor" is a historical novel set in a New England mill town in the early 1900s, from "New York Times" Notable author Chace.

Book Synopsis

From New York Times Notable author Rebecca Chace, a timely, sexy, sharply written historical novel set in a New England mill town in the early 1900s, inspired by Chace's family history.

In 1916, fifteen-year-old Frankie Ross and her parents leave their simple life in Poughkeepsie to negotiate a new existence in the booming city of Rock Harbor, Massachusetts. Frankie's father is able to find work as an engraver in the bustling cotton mill, although erupting labor protests threaten to tumble the town's socio-economic structure. Frankie soon meets Winslow Curtis and Joe Barros, two charismatic friends who come from opposite worlds. Winslow is the privileged son of state senator Ham Curtis, the politically ambitious cotton mill owner, while Joe is a Portuguese mill worker. The three become ensnared in a tender love triangle that influences them throughout the rest of their lives.

Both a richly articulated coming of age story and a political historical novel, Leaving Rock Harbor evokes a world of constant transformation in which the characters, always fighting to maintain their footing on shaky ground, struggle with issues of love, class, and ethnicity against the ever-changing backdrop of early 20th century America, the turmoil of which will resonate with readers today.

Review Quotes

"Chace has deftly and seamlessly interwoven a love story, an elegy for a vanished way of life, and an account of a crucial and neglected period in America's social history. Nobody who reads this moving, evocative and sure-handed novel will ever forget Frankie and her world."
-- David Gates, author of "Jernigan"

"Rebecca Chace's "Leaving Rock Harbor" is beautifully constructed, tender, and irresistibly readable. It signals the coming of age of a great talent."
-- Louis Begley, author of "Matters of Honor"

"Rebecca Chace's eye is sharp, whether she's writing about New England cotton mills in the years surrounding the first World War, bathing in the Atlantic -- wearing a corset or wearing almost nothing -- or eating lobster and drinking champagne in a fading but grand seaside hotel. Frankie Ross, the narrator of "Leaving Rock Harbor", doesn't manage her life sensibly, but she's lovable because she can love, and it was a great pleasure to read her story."
-- Alice Mattison, author of" Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn
"

"This graceful novel, set in a coastal Massachusetts mill town in the early decades of the 20th century, traces upheaval from several vantage points... Chace's story is dramatic; her characters, well defined by class and personality, are vivid and true; but most evocative are her details of this particular time and place, from the smell of the mill's dye room to the feel of a corset." "--The Atlantic "

""Leaving Rock Harbor "brings to life the world of an early twentieth century mill town with rich detail and simple grace. Chace writes movingly about what is both gained and lost in the name of progress, not only for her characters, but for us all."
-- Marisa Silver, author of "The God of War"

"An irresistible read in part because its protagonist, Frankie Ross, seduces us on the first page and never surrenders our affection, but also because fictional Rock Harbor feels as real as she does.
-- Richard Russo, author of "That Old Cape Magic" and "Empire Falls"

"Frankie s personal story neatly parallels the larger history of the town and the country." --"The Boston Globe"

"Rebecca Chace s "Leaving Rock Harbor" is beautifully constructed, tender, and irresistibly readable. It signals the coming of age of a great talent."
-- Louis Begley, author of "Matters of Honor"

"Rebecca Chace s eye is sharp, whether she s writing about New England cotton mills in the years surrounding the first World War, bathing in the Atlantic -- wearing a corset or wearing almost nothing -- or eating lobster and drinking champagne in a fading but grand seaside hotel. Frankie Ross, the narrator of "Leaving Rock Harbor", doesn t manage her life sensibly, but she s lovable because she can love, and it was a great pleasure to read her story."
-- Alice Mattison, author of" Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn
"

"A New England mill town circa World War I is the setting for this moody novel, whose heroine struggles with painful memories and divided loyalties." --"New York Times Book Review", Editors' Choice

"Frankie's personal story neatly parallels the larger history of the town and the country." --"The Boston Globe"

"Like the offspring of some Anne Tyler/John Updike union, Chace writescrisply and poetically and imbues Frankie with just enough flaws to make herboth lovable and entirely believable." --"Baltimore Magazine"