Keeper of the Bees - Gene Stratton-porter

nA war-torn World War I soldier hears the doctors give up hope for his recovery. He has a feeling that if he could live by the sea, get plenty of fresh air, exercise and sunshine, that he would begin to heal. So one day he slips out of the government hospital, and tottering toward the sea, he starts out weak and penniless on his Great Adventure.n nWithin a few days he finds a home, becomes a beekeeper in a lush California valley, and hurriedly becomes a bridegroom.

Shortly after his strange marriage ceremony to a woman he met the previous evening, and to whom he had only spoken a few sentences, she hastily departs without a word of farewell.n nLavishly illustrated with all of the first edition drawings by Lee Thayer and all of the paintings by Gordon Grant. With its rich nature lore, this gripping novel is a story the whole family will enjoy reading.n