INVENTING NEW ENGLAND

Quaint,charming,nostalgicNewEngland:rusticfishingvillages,romanticseasidecottages,breathtakingmountainvistas,peacefulruralsettings.InInventingNewEngland,DonaBrowntracesthecreationofthesecalendar-pageimagesanddescribeshowtourismasabusinessemergedandcametoshapethelandscape,economy,andcultureofaregion.Bythelatternineteenthcentury,Brownargues,tourismhadbecomeanintegralpartofNewEngland'sruraleconomy,andtheshortvacationafixtureofmiddle-classlife.FocusingonsuchmeccasastheWhiteMountains,Martha'sVineyard,Nantucket,coastalMaine,andVermont,Browndescribeshowfailedportcities,abandonedfarms,andevenscenerywerechurnedthroughpowerfulmarketingenginespromotingnostalgia.Shealsoexaminestheironyofanindustrythatwasbasedonanescapefromcommercebutservedasanengineofindustrialdevelopment,spawninghotelconstruction,landspeculation,thespreadofwagelabor,andavastmarketforguidebooksandotherpublications.