Cordelia Underwood: or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League

by Van Reid

Overview

Step back in time to Portland, Maine, in 1896. When the young, beautiful, redheaded Cordelia Underwood inherits a parcel of land from her seafaring uncle, it sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the unearthing of a family secret two centuries old. Cordelia soon crosses paths with Mister Tobias Walton and finds herself aided in her quest by the warmhearted gentleman, who has never heard of an adventure he isn't eager to join. Together with his hapless trio of friends, the Moosepath League, they embark on an entertaining and audacious adventure. Teeming with Cupid's arrows flying hither and yon, apparitions, a kidnapping, smuggling, and thievery, and filled with wonderment, romance, and adventure, Cordelia Underwood is a splendid yarn of the old-fashioned variety.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608935185
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	01/01/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Van Reid's family has lived in Edgecomb, Maine, since the 1800s. Reid lives with his wife and children in a house Reid and his brother built on their family's land. His series of novels about the Moosepath League—of which Cordelia Underwood is the first—take place in the late 1800s on coastal Maine.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Mariner JULY 1, 1896 Book One JULY 2, 1896 Chapter 1. The Custom House Wharf Chapter 2. Pigs, Not Contraband Chapter 3. An Almost Empty House Chapter 4. The Sea Chest Chapter 5. Enter Ephram, Eagleton, and Thump Book Two JULY 3, 1896 Chapter 6. A Deafening Silence Hushed by the Smell of Bacon Frying Chapter 7. Minmaneth Chapter 8. Curiosity by the Barrel Book Three INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1896 Chapter 9. What’s Good for the Soul Chapter 10. Freeport Chapter 11. The Political Fray Chapter 12. A Descent into the Maelstrom Chapter 13. The Veiled Invitation Chapter 14. Tolerable to Moderately Good Chapter 15. A Storm at Mast Landing Chapter 16. It Was Their Duty Chapter 17. The Wake of the Dash Book Four JULY 5-6, 1896 Chapter 18. The Unasked Question Chapter 19. The Vote Is In Chapter 20. The Ghost in the Garden Chapter 21. The Game Was Big in Wiscasset Book Five JULY 7, 1896 Chapter 22. It Was a Shame about Maude Chapter 23. Sundry Moss Chapter 24. Oddly Hunting Maude Chapter 25. The Extraordinary Befuddlement of Mr. Thump, the Singular Distraction of Mr. Eagleton, and the Superior Determination of Mr. Ephram! Chapter 26. A Shaggy Bear Story Chapter 27. Chorus for Duck and Bear Chapter 28. Colonel Taverner Proposes Chapter 29. Captain Coyle’s Riddle Chapter 30. Sundry’s Change of Position Chapter 31. Night Watch at Fort Edgecomb Chapter 32. Voices in the Night Chapter 33. The Unexpected Effects of Ducky Planke Book Six JULY 8, 1896 Chapter 34. Boothbay Harbor Chapter 35. The Members Are Outraged Chapter 36. An Unexpected Expedition Chapter 37. Damariscotta Chapter 38. A Message Decoded Chapter 39. Thoughts on a Pirate Chapter 40. Monstrous Rumors Book Seven JULY 9, 1896 Chapter 41. Fishing for Information Chapter 42. Briefly with the Club Chapter 43. Cordial Mayhem Chapter 44. The Kraken Speaks Chapter 45. Caught in the Act Chapter 46. Red-Painted Mystery Book Eight JULY 10, 1896 Chapter 47. Composition Chapter 48. Walton from Walnut Chapter 49. Alces Alces with Undergarment Chapter 50. History Beneath the Heaps Chapter 51. Formation Chapter 52. No Longer Nameless Chapter 53. A Slip of the Thumb Chapter 54. Mister Walton Proves His Mettle Chapter 55. The Writing on the Wall Book Nine JULY 11, 1896 Chapter 56. Design Chapter 57. Pursuit Chapter 58. Below Minmaneth Chapter 59. Reprise the Overture, Please Chapter 60. Moose Manor Chapter 61. Tipping the Scales Chapter 62. The Villain Among the Victims Book Ten JULY 12, 1896 Chapter 63. The Man Himself Chapter 64. A Deed Nearly Done Chapter 65. The Man with the Silver Lining Chapter 66. Further Wit in Evidence Chapter 67. No One Knew the Day Until the Sun went Down Epilogue JULY 27-31, 1896 1 July 27, 1896 2 July 30, 1896 3 July 31, 1896 Author’s Note

Editorial Reviews

"Reminiscent of John Irving at his hilarious best. .. a charming, old-fashioned romp through Victorian New England."

Boston Herald

"Delightful—thoroughly delightful."

Cleveland Plain Dealer

In his amiable, richly populated first novel, a bookseller from Maine named Van Reid draws a past that should soothe even the twitchiest reader. His re-creation of the summer of 1896 has its mishaps and villains, but it's so sunny that even the violence isn't too scary. Reid's gazillion characters sparkle. Their collective adventures are engaging and (especially when talking in concert or at cross-purposes) they can be funny. In a society populated by sterling types and delightful ninnies, even the villains are decent sorts. Escapists will be charmed by what the author, in an endnote, describes as a ''world of decency and kindness, goodness and laughter,'' in which there's plenty going on and nothing too terrible ever happens. Diffuse and leisurely, the novel seems designed for long afternoons in a hammock.

7/26/98 The New York Times

In his amiable, richly populated first novel, a bookseller from Maine named Van Reid draws a past that should soothe even the twitchiest reader. His re-creation of the summer of 1896 has its mishaps and villains, but it's so sunny that even the violence isn't too scary.
Reid's gazillion characters sparkle. Their collective adventures are engaging and (especially when talking in concert or at cross-purposes) they can be funny.
In a society populated by sterling types and delightful ninnies, even the villains are decent sorts. Escapists will be charmed by what the author, in an endnote, describes as a ''world of decency and kindness, goodness and laughter,'' in which there's plenty going on and nothing too terrible ever happens.

Diffuse and leisurely, the novel seems designed for long afternoons in a hammock.

7/26/98 New York Times