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Amateur sleuths can now investigate Greenway House, Agatha Christie’s summer retreat in Devon, England. After two years of restoration, the 18th-century manor house opens to the public for the first time this Saturday, February 28th.
Greenway House looks much as it did during the crime writer’s time there, including the drawing room where she entertained guests with readings from her page-turners. Matthew Pritchard, Christie’s grandson, told the Associated Press he hopes visitors will “feel some of the magic and sense of place that I felt when my family and I spent so much time there in the 1950s and ’60s.”
Christie was born in the seaside town of Torquay, Devon, and the area provided the backdrop for 15 of her novels, including And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun. Greenway House inspired the setting for the Hercule Poirot mystery Dead Man’s Folly.
The estate also has 30 acres of wooded and landscaped gardens overlooking the River Dart. Mystery buffs who want to make themselves at home in Christie’s residence can spring for a five-bedroom holiday apartment. The going rate is $3,600 a week in high season. –Shannon McKenna Schmidt
(Photo ©Flickr/globalNix)
Elizabeth & Darcy, perhaps? This week novelist Nora Roberts opened the Inn Boonsboro in Boonsboro, Maryland. Seven of the bed-and-breakfast’s eight rooms are named for literary romantic couples and feature décor in keeping with each one’s time period and circumstances.
In an interview with USA Today, Roberts described the Nick & Nora room — named for the married detectives in Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man – as blending “sleek art deco and fussy Hollywood glamour.” One important point, she explained, is that all the couples she chose had a happy ending (alas, there’s no room named for Romeo & Juliet or Rhett & Scarlett).
Along with Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane Austen’s popular pair from Pride and Prejudice, other room-inspiring couples include Jane & Rochester (Jane Eyre), Marguerite & Percy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Titania & Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Eve & Roarke from the “In Death” novels by J.D. Robb (a pseudonym for Roberts).
The luxurious lodgings are housed in an 18th-century abode, the first stone building constructed in Boonsboro. Among the inn’s unique touches are specially-created bath gels and lotions with a personalized scent for each room. One place that might appeal to bibliophile guests is the Inn Boonsboro’s library, where they can while away the hours in front of the fireplace with a good book — perhaps one featuring their room’s namesake duo. –Shannon McKenna Schmidt
Landing in our in-boxes this morning was a fun request from Edith Wharton’s estate, The Mount, that we wanted to pass on to all of our readers. Beginning in 2010, the U.S. Mint will be placing important national sites on the back of the quarter, and The Mount has a chance to be chosen!
Shannon had the opportunity to visit over the summer, and the Mount is truly a special place. The house is one of only 5% of National Historic Landmarks dedicated to women, and its interiors and beautifully landscaped gardens were designed by Wharton herself.
As many of you may know, The Mount has been faced with potential foreclosure; appearing on the quarter would generate tremendous publicity to help raise awareness for this important historic site. Just click here to vote and when you go to the website, note that The Mount is the ninth site listed under Berkshire County. The best part is that, unlike most elections, you can vote as often as you like until the deadline of February 26. –Joni Rendon
