The Wide Awake Girls in Winsted

Catherine Smith returns to her hometown of Winsted after a year at college, carrying a notebook brimming with verses for an Alma Mater song. Determined to prove herself worthy of her parents' reputation, she envisions a project that will bind students and townsfolk alike—a public library staffed by enthusiastic young women. Her quiet resolve is tested when the charismatic yet demanding Algernon Swinburne drops by, hinting at the social whirl she must navigate.

Gathering her friends—Frieda, Polly, and a handful of other “wide‑awake” girls—Catherine sets the wheels in motion, turning chores, school days, and Saturday outings into opportunities for community service. Together they organize donations, sweep shelves, and dream up a compact that outlines their shared values of learning, kindness, and civic pride. As the first shelves are stocked, the girls discover that the library becomes a gathering place where laughter, poetry, and the promise of future adventures flourish.