The Indiscreet Letter  -  1915
Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
60 pages
genre  -  General Fiction
my rating  - 4 out of 5 stars

"The Railroad Journey was very long and slow.  The Traveling Salesman was rather short and quick.  And the Young Electrician...was neither one length nor another..."

The two men were talking about an indiscreet letter that was found in a dead friend's pocket that was giving the widow no end of worry.  "'Every man has written one indiscreet letter during his lifetime!' affirmed the Traveling Salesman." 

A Youngish Girl in the seat behind the Traveling Salesman reached forward then and touched him very gently on the shoulder.  "Oh, please, may I listen?...If you will persist in saying interesting things in trains, you must take the consequences!"

What follows is a interesting discussion on life,  the possibility of missed opportunities, learning to love and taking chances.

I like the cover that booksshouldbefree.com made for their ebook.

My favorite line in the book?  "...a fellow's a fool when he marries who don't go to work deliberately to study and understand his wife.  Women are awfully understandable if you only go at it right."

About the author  - 

Eleanor Hallowell Abbott was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 22, 1872.  She was the daughter of clergyman Edward Abbott, who edited the journal Literary World; and the granddaughter of noted children's author Jacob Abbott. She attended Radcliffe College, and after completing her studies worked as a secretary and teacher at Lowell State Normal School.

In 1908 Abbott married Dr. Fordyce Coburn and relocated with him to Wilton, New Hampshire. 

Soon after moving, Abbott began submitting her work to several widely read magazines for publication. Two of her poems were accepted by Harper’s Monthly Magazine in 1909. She went on to publish seventy-five short stories and fourteen romantic novels.

Abbott had no children. She died in 1958 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.