Pembroke

It is set in the small town of Pembroke, Massachusetts in the 1830s and 40s. The novel tells the story of a romance gone awry and the dramatic events that follow, which entertain the residents of the small town for years after. The novel begins with the breaking off of the engagement between Barney Thayer and Charlotte Barnard after Charlotte’s father and Barney get into a heated political argument. The breaking of their engagement is central to the story, as it happens in the beginning of the novel and sets the stage for the novel’s later events.