The Builders

"The Builders" by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story begins in Virginia during a time of social change and personal struggle, focusing on the life of Caroline Meade, who is a skilled nurse returning home to care for a delicate child in a household marked by tension and discontent. The opening portion of the book introduces us to Caroline and her family at their modest home called The Cedars. As the train delays their mail, Caroline's mother receives a letter that sets off the sequence of events leading to Caroline's employment with the Blackburn family. We learn about Caroline's past heartbreak, her determination to rebuild her life through nursing, and her introspective nature as she prepares to face the complexities of her new role. The stage is set for Caroline’s interactions with the glamorous yet troubled figures of the Blackburn household, particularly Angelica, the beautiful but frail wife of David Blackburn, whose own struggles and marriage uncertainty foreshadow deeper conflicts ahead. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow was an American novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1942 for her novel In This Our Life. She published 20 novels, as well as short stories, to critical acclaim. A lifelong Virginian, Glasgow portrayed the changing world of the contemporary South in a realistic manner, differing from the idealistic escapism that characterized Southern literature after Reconstruction.