Talmadge

William Talmadge is an orchardist who is 40 years old when the novel begins. He is one of the principal characters of the novel, and is distinguished by his kind, gentle nature, by his ability to nurture, and by his sense of loss. In the 1850s, following the death of his father in a mine in the Oregon Territory, Talmadge, his mother, and his sister, Elsbeth, leave for Washington State. There, they settle into an old mining camp with two diseased apple trees. From these trees, they grow an orchard. Talmadge’s mother later dies. Talmadge himself nearly dies of smallpox, which leaves him disfigured. Elsbeth disappears one day, never to be seen again. It is a traumatic experience for Talmadge, who seeks refuge in solitude and the orchards, though he is terribly lonely.

Everything changes for Talmadge when Jane and Della steal fruit from him, and then appear...