A Gathering of Days | Literary Qualities

A Gathering of Days Literary Qualities

Written in the form and style of a nineteenth-century journal, A Gathering of Days incorporates vocabulary and language patterns authentic to that era, creating a colorful tone and mood. Oldfashioned spellings are used for some common words ("teaze" for tease, "receipt" for recipe, "cyder" for cider), and Catherine's vocabulary includes words no longer familiar today (young students are "abcdarians," feasts offer "divers pies aplenty," a "soughing wind" accompanies the winter cold).

This well-researched novel reflects much of the history, psychology, and sociology of early America. Told from the point of view of a young teenager, the story conveys factual information and historical data from her perspective.

Statistics take the form of newspaper clippings that intrigue her. The numerous maxims she quotes in her diary demonstrate contemporary attitudes and philosophies of life. Woven into the story's fabric are social customs relating to holidays, the end of the...
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