Ruth Bass has written a rich, intimate, engrossing portrait of Rose -- a child thrust into the demanding adult life of her 19th century New England homestead. Beautifully written, flowing with memorable characters; what a wonderful pleasure to read. [Gene Shalit NBC-TV]

You'll just want to keep reading and reading this vividly told story of three motherless children: Abby and Charles and Rose, bereaved and beset but trying to hold up as best they can. The setting is richly evoked; the characters are utterly persuasive; and issues of loss and mourning, friendship and love, and the complexities of family life are explored with sensitivity and wisdom. Big sister Rose, the spunky heroine of this compelling tale, may well become a classic of young-adult literature. [Judith Viorst, author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day]

In Sarah s Daughter, Ruth Bass skillfully tells the tale of Rose, a 14-year-old in 19th century America coping with the loss of her mother. This poignant story deals with the challenges and uncertainty of the emotional and physical changes in the heroine s life; changes that are sure to resonate with today s young women. Ms. Bass careful research offers fascinating details of everyday life for young women living in a time that tested not only their strength but their will to survive. This entertaining, educational novel deals with tragedy, but also the promise of early romance and the steadfast support of girlfriends. A timeless treasure, sure to please any young woman who yearns to understand that many generations before her have experienced the same things that she does...and have triumphed! [Hannah Storm, anchor, CBS News The Early Show]

Ruth Bass has a reporter's eye and ear for details and facts and is a careful observer of human behavior; Silas is the least sympathetic of the characters, but the tragedy and the guilt that haunt him give the reader sufficient emotional contact with him. The harm he does comes close to abuse but Rose has more than enough common sense and good judgment to protect her sister and brother from him.

Bass has done remarkable research in creating this story. In particular, her attention to domestic detail is meticulous. Details are what define the times we live in and "Sarah's Daughter" gives an in-depth look at social history when the post-Civil War country was, like Rose, on the threshold of changing. Subtly woven into the novel are information and instructions on everything from how to make a pie crust to how to darn a sock to how make a dress look like it has not been "stretched" to saving someone from hypothermia.

Bass's own history is woven into the novel as well; her original idea for the novel came from the stories she heard about her grandmother whose mother had died when she was a young teenager, leaving her in charge of the family and house.

More than a century has passed since Rose Hibbard had to deal with problems of a parent's alcoholism and an indifferent adult world, but they are not so different from the problems some teenagers face today. Ruth Bass has written a book memorable for its insights and its understanding of the hearts and minds of young women and the challenges they face, no matter what century they live in. [Michelle Gillett, The Berkshire Eagle]

Ruth Bass skillfully pens yet another engaging and memorable portrait of her beloved and independent-minded 19th-century heroine, Rose. [Kevin O'Hara, author of Last of the Donkey Pilgrims]

Delighted readers of Ruth Bass' Sarah's Daughter were enchanted by Rose, the young girl growing up in a 19th century small New England town. Bass continues her eventful story, as Rose blossoms into a resilient, forgiving, resolute young woman with a native intelligence that shields her vulnerability. Rose, like its predecessor, is enthralling - touching, wrenching, joyous, irresistible. [Gene Shalit of NBC-TV]

A career newspaper woman, Ruth Bass published her first novel, Sarah’s Daughter, in 2007 at the age of 72. As a newspaper reporter and columnist, Bass has a lot of experience telling the stories of real people. She has been a police reporter, newspaper feature magazine editor and Sunday editor for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She has worked as an editor at Storey Publishing Co. in Williamstown, Massachusetts and at The Independent in Hillsdale, New York. Bass has also written and supplied photographs for many other publications, including The Boston Globe, Forbes Magazine, The Day (New London, CT), The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Yankee Travel Guide, and Yankee Magazine. From family records, others' memoirs, and taped interviews, she has produced four volumes of family history for distribution to her large extended family.

She received the Tennessee Williams Award for creative journalism while in graduate school at Columbia. She has been inducted into the New England Newspaper Association’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to community journalism and was one year named by United Press International as the best columnist in New England. In May 2009, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Westfield (MA) State College for achievements in journalism and the community.

She is also past president of the Bates College Alumni Assocation, a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, and author of ten published cookbooks. She has served as a selectman in her town, a commercial bank director, a member of the town finance and health board, and is a past president of the Community Health Association of Richmond and West Stockbridge. She is vice-president of the Richmond Land Trust. She currently writes a weekly column for the Berkshire Eagle on everything from politics to puppies.

She lives with her husband, novelist Milton Bass, in Richmond, Massachusetts, where she continues to pursue her interests in family history, photography, knitting, golf, cooking and gardening.