Press Release: Start Your Beach Reading early with May's History Book Club

MOUNT DESERT—In May, the MDI Historical Society's Book Club will read and discuss Love on the Rocks : Stories of Rusticators and Romance on Mount Desert Island edited by John and Kathryn Muether. The discussion will take place via Zoom on May 12, 2025 from 6-7 p.m. Please go to https://mdihistory.org/events to register and receive the discussion link.

Love on the Rocks celebrates Mount Desert Island in the late 19th century, when it was a summer playground for wealthy out-of-staters and a place where the rich often met their future spouses. This era in Maine history spawned a new genre of fiction that was known as “The Bar Harbor Novel,” romance stories about the rich falling in and out of love during their summer sojourns. Dramatic and romantic, these short novels helped intensify the area’s popularity. The trysts featured in the collection are portrayed against the natural and cultural backdrop of Mount Desert Island in the mid to late 1800’s, often directly involving natural features and historic places. Included are pieces by Constance Harrison, Marion Crawford, Edward Church, and Ervin Wardman.

The book is available locally at all island libraries, at Sherman's, Carroll Drugstore, or directly from Islandport Press.