The Country of the Pointed Firs

Sarah Wyman Whitman designed the cover for Jewett’s masterpiece, utilizing the mayflower (also called hawthorn), one of Jewett’s favorite flowers.

Sarah Orne Jewett and Sarah Wyman Whitman met in the 1880’s, as Jewett’s star was rising in the publishing world. They became close friends.

Jewett and Whitman shared a sensibility about nature but expressed it differently. In Jewett’s work, nature is often used for metaphor, but the depiction is plain-spoken. Whitman uses stylized depictions of natural images to echo Jewett’s work. Jewett’s narrative simplicity is echoed in the clean designs of artist Whitman.