In the following excerpt, Hamblen comments on the naturalistic detail of Freeman's first two books of short stories and explores her place in American local color fiction of the New England region.

A Humble Romance and Other Stories and A New England Nun and Other Stories do much to establish her place in American literature. For these early collections are actually source material for anyone interested in early nineteenth century American life and thought, giving concrete and vivid details of a way of life that, presumably dead, still has noticeable repercussions.

It is true that a good many writers have concentrated on rural New England: Sarah Orne Jewett, Rose Terry Cooke, Margaret Deland, Alice Brown are only the most nearly typical of these, and perhaps the best known. They had their vogue for a time, Miss Jewett's delicate art earning special (and lasting) respect. And yet Mary...