Parnassus on Wheels, Morley's first novel, is the story of a marvelous man, small in stature, wiry as a cat, yet Olympic in personality. Roger Mifflin is part pixie, part sage, part noble savage, and all God's creature. With his traveling book wagon, named Parnassus, he travels through the New England countryside of 1915 on an itinerant mission of enlightenment. Mifflin's delight in books is infectious, and he comes to represent the heart and soul of the book world.
Roger Mifflin, sells his traveling book-selling business to 39-year-old Helen McGill, who is tired of taking care of her older brother, Andrew. Andrew is a former businessman turned farmer, turned author. As an author, he begins using the farm as his Muse rather than a livelihood. When Mifflin shows up with his traveling bookstore, Helen buys it--partly to prevent Andrew from buying it--and partly to treat herself to a long-overdue adventure of her own.
The first of two novels to be written from a woman's perspective, as well as the prequel to a later novel (The Haunted Bookshop), Parnassus on Wheels was inspired by David Grayson's novel, The Friendly Road, and starts with an open letter to Grayson, taking him to task for not concerning himself (except in passing) with his sister's opinion of and reaction to his adventure.
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