Elizabeth Gilbert's debut collection, Pilgrims, was hailed as "a superior collection of stories about women who are as tough as they look, though perhaps not quite as tough as they think they are" (Glamour). Stern Men brings us Gilbert's toughest, smartest, most lovable heroine yet.

On two remote islands off the coast of Maine, the local lobstermen have fought savagely for generations over the fishing rights to the ocean waters between them. Young Ruth Thomas is born into this feud, a daughter of Fort Niles destined to be at war with the men of Courne Haven. Eighteen years old, smart as a whip, irredeemably unroman-tic, Ruth returns home from boarding school determined to throw her education overboard and join the "stern men"  who work the lobster boats. She is certain of one thing; she will not surrender control of her life to the wealthy Ellis family, which has always had a sinister hold over the island. On her side are Fort Niles's eccentric residents: the lovable Mrs. Pommeroy and her various deadbeat sons; sweet old Senator Simon, on a mission to dig up shipwreck treasure; and Simon's twin brother, Angus AddamsJ the most ruthless lobsterman alive.

The feud between the islands escalates daily — until Ruth gets a glimpse of Owney Wishnell, a silent young Courne Haven Adonis with a preternatural gift for catching lobsters. Their passion is fast, furious, and forbidden. Their only hope is an unlikely truce.

 Stern Men captures a particular American spirit with on-the-mark dialogue and a fine funny touch that pierces our notions of commerce and class. This is a large-canvas novel with a heroine destined for greatness in spite of herself.

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of the story collection Pilgrims, a finalist for the 1998 PEN/ Hemingway Award. It was a New York Times Notable Book and was listed as one of the Most Intriguing Books of 1997 by Glamour magazine. Pilgrims also won best first fiction awards from the Paris Review, the Southern Review, and Ploughshares. Gilbert's fiction has been published in Esquire, Story, GQ, the Paris Review, Ploughshares, and the Mississippi Review. She is also a Pushcart Prize winner, and her nonfiction writing earned her a 1999 National Magazine Award nomination. Currently a writer-at-large for GQ, Gilbert lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

Cover art and design: Michaela Sullivan

Cover photograph © Craig MacCormack

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