Outland

"Outland" by Mary Austin is a story from the early 1900s about Mona, a young woman figuring out love and what society expects from her, especially when it comes to Herman, a professor, and the mysterious Outliers who live in the woods. She wants freedom, love, and a life full of art, and the story follows her as she tries to find them. At the start, Mona thinks about a walk in the woods with Herman where they didn't agree about love and getting married. As they walk through the forest, they find a path that seems to promise a connection to the land and maybe even the Outliers. Mona wants to be creative and understood, but Herman is more practical, and this difference hints at the exciting things that will happen to her, including meeting a strange man from the Outliers who will change how she sees herself and her relationship with Herman.