The Landing

Muskoka, Canada, the Great Depression: Fifteen-year-old Ben wants to be a violinist, but his chances of leaving Cook's Landing, the family farm, grow slimmer every year. Then one day in early summer, possible salvation arrives in the form of a new neighbor-Ruth Chapman, a wealthy New Yorker. Unlike other women in Muskoka, she smokes and swears-and introduces Ben to Mozart and Sibelius. Ben's mother keeps telling him that "things can happen" if he makes a good impression. . . . But, as the summer starts to wane, so does Ruth Chapman's interest in Ben and, consequently, Ben's hopes for his future. Historical note. Note from the author.