In 1792 formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife Patience discover an island
where they can make a life together. Over a century later the Honeys' descendants and a
diverse group of neighbors are desperately poor isolated and often hungry but nevertheless
protected from the hostility awaiting them on the mainland. During the tumultuous summer of
1912 Matthew Diamond a retired idealistic but prejudiced schoolteacher-turned-missionary
disrupts the community's fragile balance through his efforts to educate its children. His
presence attracts the attention of authorities on the mainland who under the influence of the
eugenics-thinking popular among progressives of the day decide to forcibly evacuate the island
institutionalize its residents and develop the island as a vacation destination. Beginning
with a hurricane flood reminiscent of the story of Noah's Ark the novel ends with yet another
Ark. In prose of breathtaking beauty and power Paul Harding brings to life an unforgettable
cast of characters: Iris and Violet McDermott sisters raising three orphaned Penobscot
children Theophilus and Candace Larks and their brood of vagabond children the prophetic
Zachary Hand to God Proverbs a Civil War veteran who lives in a hollow tree and more. A
spellbinding story of resistance and survival This Other Eden is an enduring testament to the
struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerance and injustice.
