Julia Harrington, Winnebago, Iowa, 1913

Although fiction, Julia Harrington in a strange and wonderful way is more real than recorded history. Julia is aged twelve-going-on-thirteen in the year 1913. She tells her own story through her memories, impressions, heart and mind and in her own special language, direct, honest, and perceptive.

In a larger sense Julia Harrington is one year in the life of a small town ― Winnebago, Iowa ― as seen by a schoolgirl a century ago ― one year of life in rustic America during those innocent and tranquil times, when the only possible unpleasantness was the rumblings of war in far-off Europe.

Richard Bissell knows America and her people. In Julia Harrington he breathes life into a bygone era not only by telling it as it was but revealing it with illustrations reproduced from original advertisements, mail-order catalogs, and other period pieces. The result is a delight to read, a delight to look at ― truly a book for all ages.