Helen Hooven Santmyer Books in Order

Santmyer recalls life in Xenia, Ohio, through its streets, buildings, sounds, and everyday routines. Combining personal memory with local history, she portrays the people and institutions that shaped a small American town before World War I.

A literary club founded by women in a small Ohio town in 1868 becomes a meeting place for intertwined lives. Their friendships, families, and community activities unfold against decades of social change in provincial America.

Aspiring poet and writer Derrick Thornton leaves her Ohio hometown for a women's college in Boston and life in Manhattan. Her literary ambitions and education bring new possibilities while her attachment to home remains a powerful influence.

In an old Ohio family home, Margaret Baird and her daughter Hilary clash over the upbringing of nine-year-old Lucy Anne. Loving both women, the child becomes the center of a struggle between family pride and romantic freedom.

Scholar and writer Elizabeth Lane returns to Sunbury, Ohio, and revisits a summer from her childhood. Remembering her cousin Steve and his romance with Damaris, she considers youthful perceptions and the greater understanding that comes with adulthood.