Renowned children's author Juliana Horatia Ewing got her start in the field by submitting short stories to magazines. When she and her husband, a military officer, were transferred to a post in New Brunswick, Ewing parlayed her solitude in her new surroundings into an opportunity to finish her first full-length collection. "Mrs. Overtheway" is the nickname bestowed upon a loquacious neighbor lady by the young orphan Ida, who loves to hear Mrs. Overtheway's stories and remembrances.