Explore the real-world places that appear in How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Portland Bookstore (Longfellow Books), Monument Square, Maine Correctional Center (Women's Prison), Abbott Falls (Violet's Hometown), Frank and Lorraine Daigle's Home and 3 more.
1 Monument Way — Where Violet, Harriet, and Frank first meet
The Portland bookstore is the novel's hinge. Violet Powell, newly released, comes in to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club. Harriet Larson arrives to choose the next title for the women still inside, and Frank Daigle works there as the handyman. Their unplanned encounter sets their intertwined lives in motion. The book's bookstore is fictionalized, and Longfellow Books, a beloved independent shop in Monument Square, is the closest real-world equivalent.
Longfellow Books opened in 1976 as an independent bookseller in Portland and moved to Monument Square in the early 2000s. It has become a pillar of Maine's literary community, hosting many readings by local authors including Monica Wood.
Longfellow Books operates as a busy independent bookstore with an active event schedule and strong support for Maine authors. It is open to the public daily.
Visit: Longfellow Books (landmark)
Congress Street — Downtown Portland's central gathering place
Downtown Portland forms the backdrop for Violet's first steps back into ordinary life after prison. Moving through the city center, she sees ordinary people going about their days, a world she must relearn. The bustle contrasts sharply with the confinement she has just left, and the bookstore stands at its edge.
Monument Square has been the civic heart of Portland since the 19th century, anchored by the Our Lady of Victories monument, a Civil War memorial dedicated in 1891. It was redesigned and renovated in the 2000s as a public plaza.
The square is a pedestrian plaza with seating, farmers markets, and seasonal events. It is surrounded by shops, cafes, and the Portland Public Library's Main Branch.
Visit: Monument Square (park)
17 Mallison Falls Road, Windham — Where Violet served 22 months
Violet Powell serves twenty-two months here for the drunk-driving crash that killed Lorraine Daigle, a kindergarten teacher. Inside she joins the prison book club run by Harriet Larson, and reading becomes her lifeline. The novel she was reading when released sends her to the Portland bookstore. The prison's fictional counterpart is inspired by Maine's real women's facility in Windham.
The Maine Correctional Center in Windham opened in the 1970s as a state corrections facility and houses the state's female inmates in a separate unit. It has been the center of Maine's women's incarceration for decades.
The facility remains an active correctional institution closed to casual visitors. Its grounds are not a tourist destination.
Fictional small Maine mill town — Violet's home and the site of the crash
Abbott Falls is the small Maine town where Violet grew up and where she drove drunk and killed Lorraine Daigle, a beloved local kindergarten teacher. The community remembers Lorraine fondly and views Violet with anger and grief. Returning home means confronting neighbors who know exactly what she did. The town is fictional, modeled on the mill towns of western Maine such as Mexico, Maine, where Wood grew up.
Mill towns along Maine's Androscoggin and Swift Rivers, such as Rumford and Mexico, boomed with paper manufacturing in the 20th century. Many have since struggled with mill closures and population loss.
The area is a quiet region of small towns and river valleys, with the Rumford paper mill still operating in reduced form. Local historical societies and outdoor recreation draw some visitors.
Portland residential neighborhood — Frank's house full of Lorraine's memory
Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, lives with the memory of his wife Lorraine, the sixty-one-year-old teacher Violet killed. He has not come to grips with the complications of their marriage, and the house holds her belongings and unfinished business. His quiet routines contrast with the turmoil that follows his encounter with Violet at the bookstore.
Portland's residential neighborhoods like Deering and Back Cove feature modest Cape and triple-decker homes built for mill and shipyard workers in the early to mid 20th century. They remain working- and middle-class areas.
These neighborhoods are mostly private residential streets. They sit near the Back Cove Trail and are not open as destinations.
Portland's West End — Home of a retired teacher facing an empty nest
Harriet Larson, retired English teacher and prison book club leader, wrestles with the quiet of an empty nest as her child prepares to leave. Her home is a place of books and reflection, and from here she picks titles for the women in prison and ponders her next chapter.
Portland's West End is a historic district of Victorian and Greek Revival homes built largely in the 19th century by merchants and sea captains. It is listed as a historic district.
The West End remains a desirable residential neighborhood with tree-lined streets. Visitors may walk the streets, though the homes are private residences.
5 Monument Square — Public reading and research hub
As a story about reading, the novel is steeped in the idea of libraries and shared books. A city library like Portland's is the sort of place where Violet, newly free, can sit quietly with a book and start rebuilding a life through reading, much like the book club she left behind.
The Portland Public Library was founded in 1867 and has served as the city's main public library for over 150 years. Its main branch sits on Monument Square.
The library offers books, public computers, and community programs. It is open to all visitors and residents.
Visit: Portland Public Library (library)
Commercial Street and Fore Street — Portland's waterfront district
The Old Port represents the lively working city around the characters. Violet, Frank, and Harriet each move through Portland's streets and waterfront as their lives begin to cross, and the harbor atmosphere frames their fresh starts in a city that offers anonymity.
The Old Port was rebuilt after the 1866 Great Fire with brick Victorian commercial buildings. It declined in the mid 20th century and was revitalized starting in the 1970s.
The district is full of restaurants, shops, and bars along cobblestone streets. It is a popular tourist destination and working waterfront.
Visit: Old Port (landmark)
More by Monica Wood: All Monica Wood books
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