A Village Stradivarius

In A Village Stradivarius, Kate Douglas Wiggin blends pastoral charm, village humor, and lyrical reflection into a story about hidden genius and the healing power of art. Anthony Croft, a poor boy with extraordinary musical instincts, devotes himself to the sacred craft of violin-making, studying great instruments and gathering resonant woods with the reverence of a true artist. His intelligence and devotion are recognized by a schoolteacher, who sees in him a soul guided by beauty, discipline, and faith in labor. Around him, small-town life unfolds with comic vividness, especially in Aunt Mehitable Tarbox's delightfully meticulous management of funerals, where gossip, ritual, and practical concerns mingle in equal measure. The emotional center widens with Lyddy Butterfield, a disfigured and long-isolated woman who inherits a quiet house by the river and begins to shape it into a refuge of color, flowers, and comfort. As she hears Anthony's haunting violin each evening, music awakens tenderness, hope, and the possibility of joy. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.