Miss Mehetabel's Son

"Miss Mehetabel's Son" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich is a novel written in the late 19th century, specifically around the 1870s. The story unfolds in a remote New England setting, focusing on the peculiar dynamics between its characters, particularly at a once-thriving tavern that has fallen into a state of neglect. The narrative explores themes of memory, regret, and the power of imagination, particularly as it relates to the titular character, Miss Mehetabel's son. The plot revolves around the protagonist, a civil engineer who finds himself staying at the isolated tavern at Bayley's Four Corners during a dreary assignment. There, he encounters Silas Jaffrey, an eccentric old man whose life has been overshadowed by the memory of his lost love, Mehetabel. Despite never having married her, Silas conjures an elaborate imaginary existence for their hypothetical son, Andy, whom he talks about with heartfelt fervor. As the civil engineer spends time with Silas, he becomes strangely drawn into this whimsical fantasy, even as he navigates the dark, atmospheric setting of the tavern—its haunting sounds and ghostly memories—revealing the profound impact of loss and longing in shaping reality. As Silas grapples with his past, the line between reality and fantasy blurs, inviting readers to ponder the depth of human emotions tied to unfulfilled dreams and connections. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of The Atlantic Monthly, during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt. He was also known for his semi-autobiographical book The Story of a Bad Boy, which established the "bad boy's book" subgenre in nineteenth-century American literature, and for his poetry.