Yesterday my husband and I were sitting at a restaurant and my husband smiled across the table and asked, "What do you want for Christmas?"
I sat and thought and quickly mentioned a book. My husband often gifts me books at Christmastime because he knows I cherish them.
As we were leaving the restaurant, I was informed we were going to one of my favorite bookstores, to see if there was anything I might like to add to my collection.
I truly believe there is no gift - like the gift of a book!
When you receive a book you know that the author took time to create it - perhaps rewriting each page multiple times. I also have several other reasons why I like books. I like the time period, the descriptive writing, the wordiness, and the fact the book was once loved by others.
The thought of books in general appeals to me as a perfect gift but I gravitate to rare books at Christmastime because I know they were often crafted on paper with a quill or dip pen before being submitted to a publisher. Many times they contain interesting pictures, prints, and maps or inscriptions.
We entered the store and I said hello to the clerk who recognized us. I walked towards the back of the store because to the left they house shelves of rare editions.
I picked out a few books and read the first few pages. After a while, I ended up focusing my attention on the words written by E.D.E.N. Southworth. And this year I selected Ishmael.
Ishmael or in the Depths by E.D.E.N. Southworth was first published in 1876 by Grosset & Dunlap Publishers in New York:
In 1921, Ishmael was turned into a motion picture called Hearts of Youth.
About the Author
Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (December 26, 1819 – June 30, 1899) began to write stories to support herself and her family after her husband deserted her in 1844.
Her earliest works appeared in The National Era, the newspaper that printed Uncle Tom's Cabin. Like her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe, she was a supporter of social change and women's rights. Her first novel, Retribution, a serial for the National Era, published in book form in 1846, was so well received that she gave up teaching and became a regular contributor to various periodicals, especially the New York Ledger.
Southworth wrote more than 60 novels and became one of America's best-paid writers of that period. Her best-known work was The Hidden Hand and her favorite was Ishmael.