The Tides of Barnegat

The Tides of Barnegat is a novel by Francis Hopkinson Smith that tells the story of a young man named John who returns to his hometown on the New Jersey coast after many years away. The book explores themes of love, loss, and redemption as John navigates his relationships with old friends and new acquaintances in the small town community.

By Francis Hopkinson Smith · First published 1906 · Genre: Romance, Drama, Historical Fiction · 22 chapters · 116,956 words

First lines

One lovely spring morning -- and this story begins on a spring morning some fifty years or more ago -- a joy of a morning that made one glad to be alive, when the radiant sunshine had turned the ribbon of a road that ran from Warehold village to Barnegat Light and the sea to satin, the wide marshes to velvet, and the belts of stunted pines to bands of purple -- on this spring morning, then, Martha Sands, the Cobdens' nurse, was out with her dog Meg. She had taken the little beast to the inner beach for a bath -- a custom of hers when the weather was fine and the water not too cold -- and was returning to Warehold by way of the road, when, calling the dog to her side, she stopped to feast her eyes on the picture unrolled at her feet.

What this Textopian page supports

The Tides of Barnegat is listed on Textopian as a novel by Francis Hopkinson Smith, dated 1906 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Novel
• Author: Francis Hopkinson Smith
• Date: 1906 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Romance, Drama, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Regional Fiction
• Length: 116,956 words
• Structure: 22 chapters, 1,988 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Tides of Barnegat by Francis Hopkinson Smith
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

• What should a reader notice first when entering The Tides of Barnegat?
• How does this novel by Francis Hopkinson Smith fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
• Where does Romance first become important in the reading?

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Genres

• Romance — Central love story and emotional relationships drive the plot.
• Drama — Intense character development and interpersonal conflicts.
• Historical Fiction — Set in a specific historical period with attention to historical detail.
• Literary Fiction — Focus on stylistic writing and deep thematic exploration.

Tags

coastal · New Jersey · historical · fishing · family · community · adventure · nature · seaside · relationships · local culture · landscape

Contents

• The Doctor's Gig
• Spring Blossoms
• Little Tod Fogarty
• Ann Gossaway's Red Cloak
• Captain Nat's Decision
• A Game of Cards
• The Eyes of an Old Portrait
• An Arrival
• The Spread of Fire
• A Late Visitor
• Morton Cobden's Daughter
• A Letter from Paris
• Scootsy's Epithet
• High Water at Yardley
• A Package of Letters
• The Beginning of the Ebb
• Breakers Ahead
• The Swede's Story
• The Breaking of the Dawn
• The Undertow
• The Man in the Slouch Hat
• The Claw of the Sea-Puss

More by Francis Hopkinson Smith

• Homo (1909)
• The Little Gray Lady (1909)
• A Gentleman´s Gentleman (1909)
• Forty Minutes Late (1909)
• Fiddles (1909)
• Abijah´s Bubble (1909)
• The Man In The High-Water Boots (1909)
• A List To Starboard (1909)
• All works by Francis Hopkinson Smith