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From the back of the
book --
MR. UNDERHILL is, by reason of his two publications in the
literary and the artistic way, at once the historian of ’Sconset and its
illustrator . . . he is a landed proprietor and a builder, a landlord
and an architect . . . the chief of Pochick and the trumpet that makes’
Sconset’s visitors known to the outside world; finally, he is the
handsomest man on the Bank, the most invariably good-humored, and by far
the most popular. Charles T. Dunwell, in Browne’s Phonographic
Monthly,1877 EDWARD FITCH UNDERHILL(1830–98)was a man of many trades,
engaged in the new occupations and reforms of mid-nineteenth century
America. Settled in New York City as a journalist, he was a reporter
during the Civil War for The New-York Times. Margaret Moore Booker’s
account of his development as a war correspondent is exceptional, as his
dispatches from the Maryland/West Virginia front provided a rare
first-person view of the war in 1860. Underhill discovered Nantucket in
1879, and the focus of Booker’s story shifts to ’Sconset, where he
became a major developer of tourism and entrepreneur of a “cottage
enclave” that attracted the theatrical community to ’Sconset. A
selection of Underhill’s humorous writings about ’Sconset enhances this
substantial biography, which retells in a lively way the real-life
adventures of an ambitious, bold, and enterprising man. Dr. Bette S.
Weidman, Associate Professor, Department of English Queens College of
the City University of New York
About the Author --
A resident of Santa Fe,
New Mexico, since 2004,MARGARET MOORE BOOKER is the award-winning author of
books and essays on art, decorative arts, architecture, and history.
With deep family roots on Nantucket and as a former resident, she
contributed articles and wrote several books on the island’s art and
history, including Nantucket Spirit: The Art and Life of Elizabeth
Rebecca Coffin (Mill Hill Press,2001) and Among the Stars: The Life of
Maria Mitchell, Astronomer, Educator, Women’s Rights Activist (Mill Hill
Press, 2007). She also coauthored Sea Captains’ Houses and Rose-Covered
Cottages: The Architectural Heritage of Nantucket Island (Universe,
2003), chosen by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of
2003. Among her recent publications are Southwest Art Defined: An
Illustrated Guide (Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2013),winner of the Historical
Society of New Mexico’s Twitchell Award for significant contribution to
the creative arts in New Mexico, and The Santa Fe House (Rizzoli, 2009),
chosen “best art book of 2010” by the New Mexico Book Co-op.
Margaret Moore Booker
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