Marrying Stone

By: Pamela Morsi

Narrated by: Kevin Clay

Any successful scholar will make personal sacrifices to enhance his research. But most are never expected to include a suspect marriage to a barefoot hill girl. Musicologist J. Monroe Farley hopes to prove that the wilds of the Ozark Mountains preserved the language and music of an era gone by. Hill girl Meggie Best only hopes for a handsome prince to make her dreams come true. Neither expects to have life suddenly upended by a jar of bad piccalilli and a skunk.

This story set in the Ozarks of 1903 recalls mountain ways and wiles as unique as the music the traveling scholar seeks. Publisher's Weekly awarded a starred review and described the story as "rich and heady as a jug of mountain 'donk' - and just as hard to put down."

©1994 Pamela Morsi (P)2015 Pamela Morsi

Charming - Anne of Green Gables of The Ozarks

In 1903 we learn through a journal, kept by J. Monroe Farley, that he is recording the history of songs that people in the Ozarks sing and play.

When he gets to his destination he meets Meggie Best. She has been waiting her whole life for a prince (like those from her fairytales) to come and sweep her away from the mountain.

What happens is a fun series of events that change the direction of their lives forever.

Kevin Clay is fantastic. He can perform all of these characters from the astute Harvard graduate who is studying the Ozark Mountain language & song, to granny smoking her late husband's pipe. Excellent.

I really enjoyed Simple Jesse, another book in this quirky series. The characters in this (as well as Simple Jesse) I really hope that Pamela Morsi continues to quirky, solemn and wonderful characters she has introduced us to do these two books.


Notes some descriptions of rendezvous's meant for 16+ year old and older.

A prince from the city

This was a nice read. Easy characters, easy hero, a love story set in the ozarks.
I loved the speech with the changes that simpler people have. I felt good after reading this book. It was very enjoyable.
The Narrator did a great job reading this book and portraying the characters.

Well Researched

The author obviously did a lot of research on the time period. The language, songs, and customs rings true.

Wonderful story set in the early 1900s

What made the experience of listening to Marrying Stone the most enjoyable?

Kevin Clay did an outstanding job creating distinctive voices for each character. His good singing voice was a nice surprise and added to the experience.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Though he wasn't a main character, I liked Jess. The author gave us a character who was so well written, I felt as if I knew him as a person.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Meggie & Roe were trying to convince everyone that they jumped off the marrying stone because of a skunk and everyone just humored them.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to savor this book, so I listened to it over 1 1/2 weeks. It was a nice distraction during each day.

Any additional comments?

*I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review*

Marrying stone

What did you like best about Marrying Stone? What did you like least?

It is the story of Roe Farley, a Harvard academic who comes to the Ozarks in 1902 to study folk songs. He meets Meggie Best, who immediately believes that Roe is her prince come in the flesh. Roe, however, is an honorable man who intends only to complete his research and return to his life in Massachusetts. There's a romance somewhere. Very entertaining historical romance.