“Maine was in Kenneth Roberts' blood. Arundel was the seaport town originally named in memory of the Earl of Arundel, to whom the British Crown granted rights in a large part of Maine. It later took the name of Kennebunkport, and it is here that Kenneth Roberts' parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and he himself lived. To Berwick and Kittery, not far away, his ancestors had come in 1639, and for the two stormy centuries that followed they were a part of the history of the state. They fought with Washington, they followed Benedict Arnold to Quebec, they manned privateers in the War of 1812. Asked once why he always—nearly always—wrote about Arundel people, Mr. Roberts said, ‘They're me. they couldn't write, and I can. 1 owe it to 'em.’"
Kenneth Roberts in “The Lively Lady”