You couldn’t find a milder book by today’ standard’s than the novel Brenda’s Ward (1906) by Helen Leah Reed. These "mannered" novels of the early 20^th century were designed for mature girls of late high school and early college age. (Continued with picture below)

No heavy romance, no vampires, no tatoos, no sexting, not even a cigarette. Characters in the "Brenda Books" would simply faint away to see how girls live today. The series includes other exciting titles like Brenda’s Cousin at Radcliffe. In this novel the heroines summer on the Maine Coast. They tour the York Historical Society and eat a fish dinner at the Isles of Shoals. Here they sketch at Fort Constitution in New Castle. When they miss the ferry to Kittery, the girls are forced to hire a deaf fisherman to row them across the churning Piscataqua River. The story reaches its climax when the fisherman’s oar snaps in mid-river. But never fear, the young women are rescued by two handsome Portsmouth boys in a rowboat. (Courtesy SeacoastNH.com Colelction)

SEE ANOTHER image of the fort