The Story of Glass
When orphan Jean Cabot loses her parents, she finds herself at the center of a tender custody battle between two men who represent utterly different worlds. Uncle Bob Cabot, the Boston intellectual, wants to raise her among his books and ideas in proper Beacon Hill society. Uncle Tom Curtis of Pittsburgh counters with industrial wealth and a different vision of her future. What begins as a comical dispute between proud brothers becomes a deeper meditation on what family truly means, and where a young girl belongs. Raised until now by a cousin who married a missionary, Jean moves between these two competing loves with an innocence that quietly transforms everyone around her. The story follows her from the drawing rooms of Boston to the canals of Venice, tracing her journey toward adulthood while asking what we owe to those who raise us, and whether loyalty must mean choosing one love over another. Bassett writes with early 20th-century warmth and precision, creating characters who feel genuinely divided between genuine affection and stubborn pride. For readers who enjoy quiet stories of domestic drama and cultural discovery, this novel offers an earnest, old-fashioned tale of a girl learning that belonging isn't about geography, it's about the people who shape who we become.
