Charlotte Heath was in such a hurry to get to her husband, it took her a while to notice the absence of her bells. If they were there, she would not have seen her husband at the edge of their town’s big square, under an elm tree, bending his head toward a young, pretty woman, to kiss her. It was midafternoon. No one else was out. No one else was watching. Except for Charlotte, her horses, her husband, and the woman, the roads around the square were deserted. All the houses were shuttered against the cold. If it weren’t for the absence of bells...

    She’d imagine it like a song. If it weren’t for the bells, the lack of the bells, if it weren’t for the lack of the jingle of bells...

Buy in Maine:

  “An upbeat, even old-fashioned story about personal growth, telling us we can’t know where we’re going until we remember where we’ve been.” Boston Magazine

    “These revels are done with wit and gaiety, along with a grain of chastening sense...Cooney dresses her story as if for a play. The color is white. There are snow and ice everywhere. As Charlotte speeds her sleigh, ‘hard white sunlight was in the trees, in every branch, like an extra layer of ice'. Like Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, Cooney’s tale moves its characters with allure.” Boston Globe

    “A sharp-eyed novel of erotic awakening circa 1900.” O, The Oprah Magazine

    “Oddly charming. A-.” Entertainment Weekly

    “Charlotte is very much like the precariously imaginative Catherine Morland of Jane Austen’s exquisite burlesque, Northanger Abbey.” Anniston Star

    “Full of earthy characters and situations you hate to leave.” Historical Novels Review

    “A delightful look at Victorian New England. Charlotte Heath--30 years old and coming-of-age--is a joy!” Book Sense

    “Imaginative and suspenseful, and you won’t guess the ending until you’re there.” Portland Press Herald

     “A charming and unusual look at Victorian New England. The detail is so complete that readers will feel as though they are in New England, circa 1900.” Pages

    “An astute historical character study.” Midwest Book Review

    "A fable of female empowerment and liberation.” Kirkus

    “Cooney paints Charlotte’s stay at the Beechmont as a canvas awaiting colors...The storyline is gracious, hopeful, and memorable.” Northeast Book Review