Driven Back to Eden

First serialized in the popular children’s magazine St. Nicholas, Driven Back to Eden is a classic of the 19th-century “back-to-the-land” genre. In the preface, author Edward Payson Roe explains that he intended to write a realistic story that could serve as a practical and encouraging guide for families wishing to escape urban tenements for a healthier, more wholesome life in the country. For Robert Durham, a bookkeeper earning a modest salary, life in his crowded New York City flat has become an unsolvable problem. He sees his wife growing nervous and weary, his frail daughter Mousie fading in the city air, and his other children being drawn into the street’s unhealthy influences. After the events of a particular evening confirm his fears, he makes a momentous decision: the family must abandon the city and learn to make their living from the soil, despite their inexperience. The novel blends a heartwarming family adventure with detailed instructions on the challenges and rewards of small-scale farming, from planting the first crops to managing difficult neighbors.