Tess of the Storm Country by Grace Miller White

Published in 1909, this classic romance is set in Ithaca, New York. Living in a squatters shanty, shunned by the upstanding folk of Ithaca, Tessibel is nonetheless shocked when her father, a fisherman, is accused of murder. Barefoot, beautiful, and innocent, Tess sets out to clear his name. Along the way, she meet a Cornell man. Tess lives in a rotting shanty surrounded by fish bones. Her education is minimal. Her best friend is a toad. How can she compare with the brainy beauties he squires around?