The Hills of Desire

In Short

Augusta and Jimmie Wardwell are an unlikely pair who marry to secure custody of Augusta’s mother, only to find themselves adrift in a society they cannot navigate. Desperate for a life that feels authentic, they retreat into the countryside with a gypsy wagon, attempting to forge a home of their own making. The book explores the tension between individual independence and the unavoidable pull of outside obligations. It has lasted because of its unsentimental look at the fragility of love when it is tested by secrets and the harsh realities of war.

The Story

The narrative begins with Augusta, an innocent yet fiercely determined young woman, facing a bureaucratic nightmare: she cannot care for her ailing mother without a husband and a home. She enlists Jimmie Wardwell, a struggling writer who is clearly taken with her, to enter a marriage of convenience. This arrangement, born of necessity rather than romance, soon transforms into a genuine partnership. However, their relationship is immediately strained by Jimmie’s desire to "protect" Augusta from the harshness of the world, leading him to keep secrets that he believes are for her own good.

Seeking an escape from the pressures of city life and the encroaching shadow of the Great War, they purchase a horse and a gypsy wagon. They set off into the countryside, finding an abandoned property where they attempt to live in harmony with nature and each other. The peace they find in the hills is profound, but it is not absolute. Jimmie, struggling with his own professional failures and a secret correspondence with a woman from his past, begins to create a divide between himself and his wife. He suffers under the weight of his own "glib and ready tongue," believing he can manage his past without disturbing Augusta’s fragile trust.

The climax arrives when Augusta discovers a letter that confirms her worst fears: Jimmie has been keeping secrets. Her reaction is not one of negotiation but of swift, absolute withdrawal; she leaves him, believing that their love cannot survive the intrusion of another. The narrative then shifts to the battlefield and the hospital, where the realities of the war catch up to them both. Augusta experiences a near-supernatural premonition of Jimmie’s injury at the front, paralleling her internal emotional turmoil with his physical suffering.

Ultimately, their journey leads them back to one another—not through a return to their previous life, but through a mutual acknowledgment of their own fallibility. Jimmie is wounded, and as Augusta tends to him, they abandon the pretenses that once separated them. The story concludes with their realization that they have survived their own illusions. They choose to live, not as two people hiding from the world, but as a couple who have faced the "elementary facts of life" and decided that their bond is worth the cost of their earlier, safer innocence.

How It Unfolds

The necessity of union Augusta and Jimmie enter a hasty marriage to navigate the legal requirements of her mother’s care. The act is born of a practical crisis, but Jimmie finds himself unexpectedly moved by the solemnity of the girl who enters his life.

The escape to the hills Driven by Jimmie’s poor health and their desire for privacy, they purchase a horse and wagon to live as nomads. This transition from the city to the quiet of the woods marks the beginning of their attempt to define their own existence.

The fracture of trust Jimmie attempts to manage a secret correspondence with a former acquaintance, believing he is shielding Augusta from unnecessary pain. This deception creates an invisible wall between them, as Jimmie becomes increasingly burdened by his own duplicity.

The moment of discovery Augusta inadvertently uncovers the evidence of Jimmie’s secret, triggering a swift and final internal decision to leave. She views the intrusion as a violation of the sacred, exclusive nature of their bond.

The trial of war Separated by the war, both characters face their own reckonings. Augusta continues her work, haunted by visions of Jimmie’s danger, while Jimmie finds himself on the front line, forced to confront the potential end of his life.

The final reconciliation The narrative culminates in a field hospital where the barriers between them dissolve. They acknowledge their mutual need and the reality of their survival, choosing a future grounded in truth rather than the comfort of their past illusions.

The People

Augusta is the emotional anchor of the book, defined by a "seraphic innocence" that masks a sharp, uncompromising intellect. She is a woman who acts on principle and refuses to share what she considers her own, making her both resilient and prone to sudden, absolute departures. Jimmie Wardwell is a writer with a "glib and ready tongue" who believes he can manage the world through charm and well-intentioned secrecy. He wants to be a provider and a protector, but he is constantly undone by his inability to be as honest as his wife. Together, they represent the struggle to maintain a pure, private ideal in a world that demands compromises. While Jimmie is initially the one who hides the truth, he eventually learns that Augusta’s perception is far more piercing than his own manipulation. Through their trials, both characters shift from the naivety of their early marriage toward a more mature, if scarred, understanding of partnership.

In Its Own Voice

"To know innocence and harmlessness, when one meets them, is as great a part of wisdom as to know their opposites when met."

The narrator reflects on the rare quality of Augusta’s character, which often baffles those who meet her.

"I think, if my moment should slip away from me that way--I think that I should die."

Augusta expresses her absolute devotion and the terror she feels at the prospect of losing the chance to be there for her mother.

"If you please, God, we've changed our mind. We'd much rather live."

In a moment of delirium after finding Jimmie wounded, Augusta addresses the surgeon as if he were a divine power, finally choosing life over her previous, rigid ideals.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the impossibility of absolute privacy in a world defined by connection and consequence. The book asks whether a marriage can truly be a sanctuary if it is built on the avoidance of reality. It challenges the idea that "protection"—keeping a partner in the dark to spare their feelings—is a form of love, ultimately arguing that such secrets are a betrayal of the very intimacy they are meant to preserve. The story probes the question of whether a person can ever truly be independent, or if we are always, inevitably, tethered to the people we love and the obligations we incur. It is an argument for the necessity of "the truth," however painful, as the only foundation upon which a lasting life can be built.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate quiet, character-driven studies of relationships will find much to admire here. The book captures the specific, slightly weary optimism of the post-war era, and the prose has a rhythmic, almost folkish quality that roots the story in its setting. It is a rewarding read for those interested in the psychological underpinnings of marriage, though it does not shy away from the darker sides of human nature, such as jealousy and the tendency to self-sabotage.

Modern readers should be prepared for the period-specific attitudes regarding gender roles and the occasionally dense, stylized dialect of the supporting characters, which the author uses to convey a sense of place. The book’s length allows for a slow, immersive experience, though some may find the shifting tones—from the almost whimsical early scenes to the stark, harrowing reality of the war—to be a jarring transition. What remains with you is the raw, almost painful honesty of the final scenes; the book refuses to provide an easy, pat resolution, instead leaving the reader with a sense of the genuine, hard-won growth of its two protagonists. It is an earnest, unpretentious work that captures the small, quiet revolutions of two people trying to live on their own terms.