A nameless female writer has come to Dunnet Landing, a small town on the coast of Maine, for the summer in order to finish her manuscript. Once there, she finds herself absorbed in the rhythms of daily life, which come at a much-altered pace than the city she's left behind. Her observations of the residents of Dunnet Landing—their loves, their fights, their occupation with sky and sea and land, their tall tales, and their quiet secrets—comprise The Country of the Pointed Firs. It is a novel made seemingly from the very fabric of community. Jewett's beautiful, delicate descriptions and her wonderfully natural dialogue bring the whole town and its many inhabitants to life.

Once described by Henry James as Jewett's "beautiful little quantum of achievement," The Country of the Pointed Firs is a stunning testament to the power of place and memory.