51 pages • 1 hour read
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club
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Chapters 30-39Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, death, and sexual content.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Cadence”
The Putnam yacht stops near Copper Pond Farm, and the yacht’s boat, the Oxford Comma, takes Margaret, Winnie, Celia, and Dolores to the Smith residence. Winnie discreetly tells Cadence that Margaret was an intolerable “chatterer,” so Celia kept her in a guest room and had her secretary take her shopping. Margaret didn’t end up pitching the special-sized books. Another person at the Army library already had the idea. There’s a nascent committee to produce the books, and Cadence is invited to join. They’re calling the books Armed Service Editions—ASEs. To honor Tom, Putnam made Cadence a special ASE of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays.
Aboard Never Moor, Cadence feels like Jay Gatsby on his mentor Dan Cody’s yacht. Cadence eats lobster, and the women choose ASE titles using the cookie jar. Winnie explains that Cadence will work for the ASE committee and Putnam, but they need her immediately. Cadence isn’t ready to leave her family, and Winnie doesn’t push her, but Winnie doesn’t give up on her either.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Briar”
As Briar follows Major Gilbert, she watches him eat and then purchase an expensive necklace. At the post office, he receives a Swiss postmarked letter from a person named Greta.
