By Mj Pettengill

Left fatherless during the Civil War, the Hodgdon sisters’ fate is sealed when their mother perishes in a fire, leaving them alone in the wilds of New Hampshire. “Book One” - in 1872, Abigail is sent to the County Farm and must always wear a yellow dress, punishment for her sins. With Nellie—Native elder and midwife—and farm boss, Silas Putnam, she weaves a triumphant story of courage, survival, and secrets surrounding lost love. “The Angels’ Lament” - Book Two, follows Sarah to the textile mills of Fall River. Spanning generations—back to the shores of Ireland—she brings us into a spinner’s world while living in a tenement unfit for humans. She encounters a worldly lamplighter and finds an unlikely, dangerous escape. Her world is shattered when she meets Bess, the daughter of a powerful corporate lawyer. “Down from the Tree” - Book Three, in 1878 at the County Poor Farm, where it all began, an orphan boy, Samuel Hodgdon, faces being taken away from the only home he knows. He finds comfort in a tree—a knowing tree. Legend has it that if one climbs high enough, it’s possible to view the entire world. What Samuel witnesses forever changes him. Will he come down from the tree?