The Weir, written in 1943, takes place in a small island fishing village during the years before World War II, set against a backdrop of hard work and struggle. Ruth Moore, one of the great regional novelists of the twentieth century, brilliantly and authentically captures not only the characteristics of coastal Maine and its people, but uses them to write a story of universal human drama featuring two primary families who feud, gossip, and struggle while being battered by the relentless tides of change sweeping over their community and their entire way of life. This reissue of Ruth Moore’s debut novel includes a new introduction.