Queechy

In 1852, Susan Warner wrote the novel that made American fiction a commercial force to be reckoned with. Queechy became the first American novel to sell over a million copies, proving that American voices could command the world's attention. At its heart is Fleda Ringan, an eleven-year-old orphan living with her grandfather in the hills of rural Vermont, whose quiet dignity and steadfast heart would become the template for countless orphan heroines to follow. When tragedy forces her into the orbit of wealthy relatives in Paris, Fleda navigates unfamiliar luxury with grace. But fortune is fickle, and when her aunt's money disappears, Fleda returns to America to find herself in reduced circumstances. She must learn to work with her hands, to farm and cook and build a life from the earth. Through it all, Mr. Carleton remains nearby, his devotion unspoken but unmistakable. Warner captures the 19th-century American conviction that character, not circumstance, defines a person. The novel endures because it offers both a gripping romance and a reassuring fantasy: that virtue, tested by hardship, is rewarded.