<DIV><p>Since 1977, Jon Hassler's Staggerford series has entranced readers with its funny and charming depiction of life in small-town America. <B>The New Woman</B> is his latest visit to this Minnesota hamlet.</p> <p>At the age of eighty-eight, Agatha McGee has grudgingly moved out of her house on River Street and into the Sunset Senior Apartments. She's not happy about giving up her independence, and Sunset Senior's arts and crafts activities and weekly excursions to the Blue Sky Casino are hardly a consolation. Meanwhile two of her close friends pass away, her nephew Frederick is drifting into depression, and a kidnapped little girl has suddenly appeared on her doorstep. With characteristic poise and dignity, Agatha takes on her problems and finds that the bonds of friendship and family are still the key to happiness at any age. Affectionate and life-affirming, <B>The New Woman</B> is another delightful trip to a town with a soul as real as rural America itself.</p> </div>