The Hatbox Letters

By Beth Powning

Beth Powning offers readers an unforgettable story of love, grief and renewal — both past and present — as well as her extraordinary perceptions of the natural world.

At the age of fifty-two, Kate Harding has hit a crossroads: the pain that overwhelmed her when her husband died suddenly from a heart attack the previous year hasn’t diminished, and she is at a loss as to how to go on with her life. Living alone in her large Victorian house, its emptiness magnified by memories of better days, Kate can only dream of a time when her grief will abate, at least enough to allow her to hope for change.

When Kate’s sister drops off nine antique hatboxes of papers recovered from their grandparents’ eighteenth-century home in Connecticut, Kate isn’ t sure she is ready to face the remnants of her family’s past. She’s having enough trouble going through Tom’s things. Soon, though, the smell of the hatboxes begins to permeate the air in her home and “awakens a feeling in Kate that she remembers from childhood, composed of odd emotional strands: love, sorrow, pain, contentment.” As she slowly sorts through the letters, diaries and photographs, Kate begins to find some solace in the past. But the further she delves into her grandparents’ history, the more Kate realizes that her perfect world had its own dark side — an undercurrent of tragedy, personal loss and eternal grief.

Then an old acquaintance moves back to New Brunswick, and Kate begins to edge out of her solitude, surprising herself. But when a new tragedy comes, it forces Kate to begin picking up the pieces of her shattered life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307375520

Beth Powning

Beth Powning grew up in a small New England town, where her family has lived since the 1790s. In 1972, she and her husband Peter Powning moved to Canada and bought an 1870s farm in New Brunswick, where they established a pottery business. In 1995, Beth Powning published a book of photography, Roses for Canadian Gardens (written by childhood friend Bob Osborne). She later found her voice in Home: Chronicle of a North Country Life. Over the next fifteen years, five books followed: another book of photographs, Northern Trees and Shrubs; two works of non-fiction, Shadow Child and Edge Seasons; and three bestselling novels, The Hatbox Letters, The Sea Captain’s Wife, and A Measure of Light.

Reviews for The Hatbox Letters

[oldblack-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant book. Best book I've read all year and one of the handful of all-time top books. Beth Powning is very insightful about relationships and I found myself saying "yes, yes" all the time. The word pictures she paints have such verisimilitude that the story and the people in it came to life for me in a very powerful way. The constant theme of the book is grief and separation and Powning really weaves this theme into every aspect of the story. I guess not everyone will like this book, but it will appeal most to those who have experienced loss and grief or, as in my case, are expecting someone close to die soon.One particular chapter of this book really stood out for me: Chapter 15: Sally's Café. I don't think I have ever read better.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. Not quite what I expected from the review I had read prior to the book's release, but still enjoyable.