The Little Locksmith: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: A rediscovered literary classic!
Review: First published in 1943, The Little Locksmith was hailed as a major literary event: a rare and beautifully crafted memoir, holding an unforgettable story. The New York Times wrote, "It is the kind of book that cannot come into being without great living and great suffering and a rare spirit behind it." In 1895, suffering from a disease of the spine, five-year-old Katharine Butler is strapped to a stretcher in an attempt to ward off "deformity." Forced to remain immobile for ten years, the young girl creates for herself a bedroom world--a 'busy studio' where her brothers and sister join her, reading, drawing, and creating art. At the age of fifteen she is pronounced 'cured'--only to discover that her back is hunched and that she is 'no taller than a ten-year-old child.' Katharine's reflections, remarkably candid and visionary for her time, trace a young disabled woman's struggle to negotiate her physical limitations and her occasional pangs of shame with her equally undeniable aspirations and desires. Her spirit and courage prevail, and she succeeds in expanding her world far beyond the boundaries prescribed by her family and society: she attends Radcliffe College, forms deep friendships, begins to write, and in 1921, purchases a house of her own in Castine, Maine. There she creates her home, room by room, fashioning it as a space for guests, lovers, and artists. And there she commits herself to her craft, using her writing as an expression of her quest for intellectual, sensual, and spiritual fulfillment.

The first in what was to be a projected trilogy and the only book completed before the author's early death, The Little Locksmith is lit with sharp detail, deep emotional texture, and a generous and loving appreciation for the beauty invested in ordinary things.

KATHARINE BUTLER HATHAWAY (1890-1942) was born in Baltimore and lived for much of her youth in Salem, Massachusetts. After attending Radcliffe College, she lived and wrote in Maine, and later in New York City and Paris, where she was a part of the vibrant artists' culture of the 1920s. In the early 1930s she returned to settle on the coast of Maine with her husband, Daniel Hathaway. The Little Locksmith was published a year after her death, and in 1946 a collection of her writings and drawings was published as The Journals and Letters of the Little Locksmith.

"The 1943 best-seller [is] now reissued so contemporary readers may savor this eloquent memoir of Hathaway's ultimately triumphant struggle for fulfillment as a writer and a woman...delicacy and directness illuminate every page." - ELLE Magazine

"No words can convey the fascination and charm of this story. It is a powerful revelation of spiritual truth. The writing itself is a sheer delight." --Boston Globe

"Comes so fresh out of life . . . You must not miss it: indeed you will not be able to do so, for it will be with you for some time, and for you it will remain unescapable." --New York Times

"[A] story of suffering guided to exquisite achievement." --Commonweal

"Something of Emily Dickinson walks again in this prose with its precision . . . and its unimpeachable color of 'New England.'" --Atlantic Monthly

"[Hathaway] has written poignantly and beautifully of her transformation from loneliness and introspection to vivid awareness of the fullness of life. . . . As beautiful a piece of prose writing as has been my pleasure to read in some time. . . . [A] moving tale of quiet courage and sensitive perception." --Library Journal

"[A] testament to the human spirit unbound." --Book Week

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This Treasure
Review: My husband gave this book to me and I am truly enjoying it! Katharine sees things from a rare perspective. Her life transformed her into someone that could see deep into even the most mundane subjects. I feel a new appreciation for even the sounds of crickets! She was certainly a person who's cup was always half full! This book is like welcome raindrops, enveloping you and staying with you long after the drops have evaporated!

Rating:
Summary: The Little Locksmith
Review: My husband gave this book to me and I am truly enjoying it! Katharine sees things from a rare perspective. Her life transformed her into someone that could see deep into even the most mundane subjects. I feel a new appreciation for even the sounds of crickets! She was certainly a person who's cup was always half full! This book is like welcome raindrops, enveloping you and staying with you long after the drops have evaporated!

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: This book is amazing, I am 15 and I read it, my mother at 39 read it, my grandma read it and my younger sister at 13 read it. Everyone takes away some different, but something wonderful from this book. It is absolutely indescribable, you have to read it; right now, order it, read it, it will change your outlook on life.

Rating:
Summary: Just beautiful
Review: This book is astounding-- I keep wondering why no one ever told me about it before. Why did I find it on the dusty independent table in the back of bookstore? It is rare and beautiful. Butler-Hathaway's insight, uniquely sensual perspective, enthusiasm, and empathy are lovely. Order it.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This Treasure
Review: This is a beautiful book on so many levels. The author's voice, the author's spirit, the author's technique of storytelling are awe inspiring. If you have been led to this page, take it as a sign and order this book, reading it is an experience and I can't wait to read it again. If you are looking for a gift to give someone else then this is it, but read it first yourself so that you can trully share it.