I Witness and Wait
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About the Book
This "brilliant" novel unravels a mystery which takes place in rural New Hampshire in the 1930s -- where crime of any kind, let alone a brutal sex murder, could hardly be imagined by the people who lived in this sedate, little town in the foothills of the White Mountains. But it did happen. An intelligent, mature-for-his age, fourteen year-old boy is accused of murdering his young, beautiful schoolteacher. A nostalgic coming-of-age tale, as well as a gripping thriller, excitingly written with well-developed characters, I Witness and Wait is a must read. "Truly a masterpiece!"
"It´s a shame what took place in Overlook, New Hampshire, in the winter of 1935. Nothing like it had ever happened before -leastways, not in anyone´s memory - the younger generation back then used to complain that "nothin´ really excitin´" ever happened in that quiet, little old town "except only the usual things like births and marriages, and a-course funerals... only normal borin´ stuff like that. Nothin´ anywhere near excitin´ as say a bank robbery or the awful Lindbergh baby kidnappin´ for instance."
Certainly not a crime having to do with sex! Good Heavens no! Not here in Overlook, New Hampshire. That would have been preposterous. Perish the thought! What´s more, no one in their right mind, not in their wildest dream, would ever imagine a sex murder taking place in this sedate, little town in the foothills of the White Mountains.
But it did happen - sometime prior to the January thaw - that brief respite in an otherwise brutal winter uncovering the horrifying secret of Mason´s Pond.
So begins Elwyn Dearborn´s new work of fiction, I Witness and Wait, a distinct departure from his former published work. It focuses on the coming of age of an intelligent, mature-for-his-age, fourteen, "goin´ on fifteen," year old boy growing up in a small (population:997) New Hampshire town. His story climaxes during the last months of 1934-1935 when the boy is accused of the brutal murder of his young and beguiling schoolteacher, resolved in the final chapter´s exciting court proceedings. The story involves a wide range of characters in this fictitious small town who live in relative prosperity until the "War to End All Wars," having just endured the Great Depression and lived through economic recovery under F.D.R. leading up to World War II. How these town folks enjoy life and earn their living provides the background panorama against which this fascinating novel is told.
About the Author
The eighty-something year old author of I Witness and Wait has spent a multi-faceted career in the arts; fIrst and foremost perhaps, in the theatre as a director and playwright. As director of theatre he worked on the critically acclaimed Broadway revival stage production of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms; also, at numerous community and summer theatres around the country he directed or produced more than two hundred plays and musicals. As a fledging playwright he was one of the fIrst to be invited to join the famed New Dramatists' Committee in New York City. In addition he has authored fIve full-length plays all of which have been professionally produced. Following his retirement in 1998 from a forty-something year career in the theatre he owned and operated a successful gallery of art in Portland, Maine, for more than a decade. Since then he has devoted full time to travel and writing. Although I Witness and Wait is Elwyn Dearborn's fIrst novel he is also the author of the critically acclaimed, prize-winning book entitled The Down East Printmaker, Carroll Thayer Berry, the defInitive work on the subject published by Down East Books, Camden, Maine. For this scholarly work he was awarded the highly coveted Book Builders of Boston, New England Book Show Award in1983. Mr. Dearborn has a BS degree in English-History-Psychology from the University of New Hampshire where upon graduation he receive the prestigious honorary Tau Kappa Alpha Award. He studied for his Masters degree at Columbia University in Comparative Literature with creative writing as his maior course of studv.