The Emancipation of Emily

In 1890, Emily Ayers, an illiterate eighteen-year-old, is living on the edge of the Pine Barrens in Southern New Jersey. She goes to a nearby town to care for the sick wife and three children of the Reverend Josiah Fairchild, a distant relative. When his wife Retty dies, the Reverend marries Emily. As the wife of a prominent minister, Emily is faced with many challenges: coping with the disapproval of some of the church congregation; learning to be a wife and a stepmother to rebellious Jack...