Frame of Reference: (A New England Slant) Collected Essays

Lydia Thayer wrote these essays as a member of the Saturday Morning Club of Boston, which was founded by Julia Ward Howe in 1871 to educate and amuse young women. The group still meets every Saturday at the Harvard Club in Boston. Mrs. Thayer, who was born in 1909, grew up on her family's estate in New Bedford, Massachussetts, a prosperous whaling center, in a world "still suffering from a Victorian hangover." She moved to Cambridge in her 20s, married, had two children and became an active participant in the vibrant cultural life of the community. Her essays convey the richness and complexity of her life amidst the characters and adventures she has observed and encountered. Lydia Thayer's sharp intellect, wry humor, keen powers of observation and earned wisdom resonate through these wonderful essays, which preserve and convey a view of life that is quintessentially New England, and American.