David and Anna Matson 1st Edition 1876 by Abigail Scott Duniway - Oregon Authors - Epic Poem

Title: David and Anna Matson

Author: Abigail Scott Duniway

Description: First Edition. Light blue cloth boards ornately stamped in black and gilt. All edges gilt. Edges rubbed and lightly worn; boards show minor spots of soiling. Unmarked; a few pages have minor spots of soiling. Frontispiece portrait of author with tissue guard ans six illustrated plates, each with tissue guard. iv, 194 pp. 8.25 x 5.75 inches.

This volume primarily consists of Duniway's melancholic epic poem which tells the story of the young husband and father, David Matson, who sets sail from New England for Spain. His wife Anna waits for word from her beloved, but the weeks turn into months, and the months into years. After all hope is lost she marries again, this time to a jealous, petulant rival of David's. Her new husband, in turn, sets sail across the Atlantic. In the Spanish port of Malaga he encounters David Matson. Duniway's poem was inspired by, and elaborates upon, a short prose sketch ("David Matson") by John Greenleaf Whitter.

The volume concludes with about 30 pages of shorter poems: The Dirge of the Sea (written on the Pacific Ocean in December 1870), The Nocturnal Wedding, West and West (a poem of the Oregon Trail), The Destiny of Freedom, Laudamus (written at Astoria in August 1875), Thoughts in Storm and Solitude (written at Albany in November 1868), and After Twenty Years (written on the Great Plains near Duniway's mother's grave in May 1872).

Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915) was a women's rights activist, newspaper editor, and writer.

Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Jacket Condition: None

Publisher: S.R. Wells & Co.
Place: New York
Year: 1876

Language: English

ISBN: n/a

Keywords: Oregon, Oregon authors, poetry, epic poem,