(Sandwich—June 2012) Deborah Hill, author of the novel This is the House, will be at Titcomb’s Bookshop on Saturday, June 16th at 3-4pm. The event is free and open to the public. This is the House was originally published in 1975, and now, updated and rewritten, it offers the contemporary reader of historical fiction an engrossing glimpse of post-Revolutionary Cape Cod, as well as introducing its fascinating heroine.

 

Deborah Hill wrote This is the House while living on Cape Cod. “It was a story I could never have created without using the memoir of my husband’s mariner ancestor,” says Hill. She has been working on revisions for the past 20 years, researching post-revolutionary history and aligning her novel with facts more easily obtained than they were 35 years ago. “Writing a second edition is an author’s dream come true,” Hill comments. “There’s always more that can be done.” In its original printing, This is the House sold over 700,000 copies

 

Based on a memoir that describes the struggles of the new nation as it strived to establish European trade, This is the House narrates the rise of both Molly Deems and Elijah Merrick. Molly’s unfortunate reputation precedes her. In between dodging the depredations of Britain and France and, eventually, his own government, Elijah will defend her against his mother, with whom she must live while he is at sea. He helps in overcoming the town’s determination to ostracize her, and forces the Church of Standing Order, Congregational, to accept her. But he is unable to protect her from herself, and from her irresistible attraction to Isaac Warden.

 

For further information or to reserve a signed copy of the book if you cannot attend, contact Titcomb’s Bookshop at 508-888-2331. Titcomb’s Bookshop, located at 432 Route 6A in East Sandwich, is a family-owned independent bookstore selling new and used books since 1969. For more information, please refer to the bookshop website www.titcombsbookshop.com.

 

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Reviews of This is the House

 

“Hill’s recent revisions have added immensely to the work’s clarity and depth. This is the House is important and worthwhile, both for helping us understand history and for fostering our appreciation of our fascinating human story.” —Rev. Jeffffrey Symynkywicz, author of

 

The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen

 

“Those of us who remember Molly Deems from 35 years ago are delighted to see that a new generation of readers will experience her life as a woman living on Cape Cod in the late 1700’s. Deborah Hill has captured the essence of the era and has fashioned it into a fascinating novel. Welcome back, Molly!”—Marie Sherman, author of Say, ‘I Do!’ Wedding Tales of a Cape

 

Cod Justice of the Peace.

 

“Deborah Hill weaves a spirited tale of a seafaring community enduring the hardships and uncertainties associated with the War of 1812. Her characters make This is the House convincing as well as enjoyable.”—James H. Ellis, author of A Ruinous and Unhappy War