Bess Streeter Aldrich is known for her portrayals of wise and witty women whose identities are strengthened, not smothered, in the bosom of the family. Molly Mason, fifty-two, is the devoted wife of the bank president, mother of four fun-loving Masons, and a reliable standby for the library board, missionary society, and the women's clubs. She has a hand in everything that happens in her midwestern town. In fact, Mother Mason never has any time to do just as she likes. Then one day she makes a headlong dash for liberty—and look out!

Bess Streeter Aldrich published stories about the Masons in American magazine during World War I. Homesick American soldiers asked for more, and in 1925 the same family became the subject of Mother Mason.

"A novel of home happiness, which, although it does not sentimentalize, will make many a family smile over its own humor and vicissitudes."—Literary Review

"A story of family life without the cloying sentimentality that usually characterizes this type of fiction."—Saturday Review of Literature