The History of Poor Farms in Vermont

The true story behind the award-winning new novel describing life on a Vermont poor farm.

Norwich Public Library, Thursday, August 27, 5:30 pm | Community Room | A book signing will follow the talk

Asa James

1875 Vermont. A scarred infant pulled from beneath his mother’s dead body, raised on a poor farm, Asa James isn’t perfectly positioned to become the next Darwin

Winner of multiple book awards, Asa James is a twist on the classic Gothic love story in which a scarred young man who wishes to be the next Darwin meets a glossy and sardonic widow, owner of a mountaintop mansion. Amid a series of eerie events, they form a friendship that grows into a sweet and tender sort of love. But then, from within the many dark recesses of Mansfield Hall, a shameful secret is discovered that will force Asa into making a terrible choice.

“Asa James is the kind of novel that quietly wraps itself around you—beautifully written, richly atmospheric, and emotionally resonant in all the best ways.”

BIO

Jodi Lew-Smith lives on a hill farm in Hardwick, VT with her husband, dog, chickens, and 250 apple trees. Her grown children come and go, staying long enough to make her laugh. She has always been a writer but also enjoys biology, which comes out in her fiction. She holds a bachelor’s in English literature, a master’s in botany, and a doctorate in molecular genetics, with which she works as a biocurator for agenomic database based at Stanford. Her stories and essays have appeared in various journals, including a story in The Wax Paper that was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart Prize.