Think about it for a moment. What if a book had been published under a title that was not the one the author and her editor had agreed upon? Would it have mattered? Without doubt, the answer is, "Yes."

That's especially true with the short story collection that you are about to read by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. It was originally published under the title A Humble Romance and Other Stories (1887). But it was supposed to be published as Green Mountain Stories.

Now, 136 years later, the collection is being published under its intended title. Green Mountain Stories, with an extensive critical commentary providing the intriguing backstory. This publication anchors Freeman solidly, unequivocally, and forever to Vermont-The Green Mountain State-where she launched her acclaimed literary career. Vermont can now claim Freeman as its own, just as exclusively as Freeman claimed Vermont as her own, from the start of her career until the end. The publication marks the beginning of Freeman's journey back home to Vermont.