The Bent Twig

A quiet, stubborn honesty meets the tremor of change. The Bent Twig opens a window onto ordinary lives that still feel urgent today. Dorothy Canfield Fisher's American realist novel Home in New England traces a family's silent tensions and the pull of social expectations with spare precision and emotional clarity. Through intimate scenes of duty, desire, and disagreement, the book examines how gender roles shape daily choices, while a larger portrait of early twentieth century America reveals a society on the cusp of modernity. The result is a story that feels both intimate and expansive, anchored in a distinctive New England setting yet resonant with universal questions about family dynamics, responsibility, and belonging. Its literary and historical significance rests in its humane realism and deft social critique, aligning with the traditions of Edith Wharton and William Dean Howells while carving its own steady, humane path. This edition offers readers a timely reminder of why this period remains a cornerstone of early twentieth century literature, and why it continues to inform contemporary discussions in classrooms and book groups alike. Ideal for the casual reader and the classic-literature collector, this restored edition is more than a reprint-it is a collector's item and a cultural treasure. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions, it deserves a place in every high school curriculum, adult book club, and literary study guide shelf.