If You Talk of Love to Me: Letters and the New England Code

Christine Peters' fascinating letters give us the lively story of new friendship and unconventional courtship of distant cousins Christine Peters, in the growing city of Burlington, Vermont, and Frank Peters, in burgeoning Los Angeles, California, in the early 1900s. As they establish their respective careers in Burlington's Horatio Hickok Lumber Company and the Los Angeles County Law Library, we are treated to glimpses of the busy working and social life in each city and the strength of family ties of the descendants of Robert Walter Peter, immigrant from Scotland in 1830. Christine was a feminist before the word was common. She valued personal independence over dependence and loss of identity in marriage, and she took on greater responsibilities at work to earn higher pay. She wanted the right to vote, inspired by Bertha H. Baruch's principles of equal suffrage set forth in Los Angeles in 1905. She seized every opportunity to increase her understanding of events in the wider world and appreciation for the arts. She read widely. She listened thoughtfully to Bishop Hall's sermons. At the same time, she followed the manners and customs of the unwritten New England code of proper behavior, took loving care of her mother and brothers and sisters, sympathized with the problems of others, and enjoyed her friends. Women of today will recognize in Christine a kindred spirit. Frank preserved Christine's letters in three volumes entitled Cumulative Evidence to persuade the reluctant Christine to accept his proposal of marriage. Her letters survived due to Frank's foresight. As a result we can read their story today in her own words, enriched by an introduction, illustrations, notes, and other supporting materials. Enjoy! With 180 historic images, photos, and archival postcards