On August 11th, 2010 my sister and I visited THE MOUNT and took a tour of the house and gardens. It was a day I won't forget
THE MOUNT, located in Lenox, MA., was the summer home of writer Edith Wharton and definitely is an autobiographical house. Every aspect of the estate –including its gardens, architecture, and interior design – evokes the spirit of its creator. Edith bought the 113-acre Lenox property in 1902 and began to create an environment that would meet her needs as designer, gardener, hostess, and above all, writer.
Edith expressed herself through her writing, her plots and characters many times mirroring the sorrows of her own life. Rarely did her stories have happy endings. Unhappily wed for 25 years to Teddy Wharton, a man who suffered from a Bi-Polar disorder and chronic infidelity. Writing was how she survived the hurt and hard times of such an unloving marriage. She also indulged herself in her dogs, her friends, in being a proper hostess, and in making THE MOUNT a place to remember.
As I went through the mansion, much of the third floor was still undergoing renovations, I tried to channel Edith's creativity. Though she had pictures taken, for publicity reasons, at her desk in the library Edith didn't write her novels there. She preferred instead to sit up in bed, with a writing tray upon her knees, one of her dogs at her side, and write from 8am till noon each day.
While in her bedroom I glanced out one of the large windows and took in the view of the gardens with their flowers and fountains This was the scene Edith enjoyed daily as she wrote such works as THE OLD MAID, HOUSE OF MIRTH, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, ETHAN FROME, GHOSTS, SUMMER, and TWILIGHT SLEEP, just to name a few of the 40 books she created. Hollywood has turned many into motion pictures, with such actors and actresses as Betty Davis, Diane Lane, Daniel Day Lewis, Winona Ryder, Liam Neeson and Michelle Phieffer to name a few portraying her characters.
The dining room was my favorite place in the mansion, done in pastel pinks and creams and a fireplace of Italian marble Edith didn't like square tables. She thought placing someone at the head made them sit superior to the rest of her guests, where a round table made everyone equal.
There are definitely paranormal activities going on at THE MOUNT. While touring the dining room my sister felt a dog rub against her leg. Looking down, expecting to see the canine, she was shocked to discover nothing was there. Edith loved dogs and had 12 running around the place at all times. In fact, there is a pet cemetery not far from the house where all her beloved pets rest in peace, headstone markers inscribed with the names and dates of each furry love. Since Edith and Teddy had no children, the dogs were their family.
Edith lived summers at THE MOUNT from 1902 till 1911, returning to homes in either NY City or Long Island for the winter. But in 1911 scandal hit the Whartons. Edith discovered Teddy was keeping a mistress well cared for, using her money. Since Teddy was a player and a ladies man, he had no substantial wealth of his own. So, it was easy for Edith to divorce him and kick him out. However, since actions of such a nature were not accepted by society in those times, Edith decided to move to Paris, France, to get away from all the wagging tongues. That is where she lived and continued to write until her death in 1937.
THE MOUNT fell into disrepair, but was purchased two times prior to it becoming an historical site. At one time it was a girl's school, thus explaining the vision I experienced during my visit there. As my sister and I sat eating lunch on the terrace at the quaint cafe, I saw from the corner of my eye a child run through one of the sets of double glass doors. When I turned to get a better look, realizing I hadn't seen a child all day, the youngster had vanished. Other paranormal sightings have been seen, in fact on Friday nights there is a "ghost walk" tour through the pet cemetery and surrounding woods.
I am happy to say THE MOUNT is completely handicapped accessible, as well as having special parking and useable bathrooms. I was able to navigate through the entire mansion with my wheelchair and most of the gardens and grounds. To get a better glimpse of this beautiful estate and learn more about the many tours and activities held there, log on to: www.edithwharton.org.
Something to "crow" about, check out my proch swing page...
I was on a radio show broadcast out of Florida and beamed globally through the internet on October 26th
Go to: www.linndadurreshow.com and once the home page comes up, move to the left hand column and under "main menu" click on PODCAST ARCHIVES OF SHOWS.
Once that page materilizes scroll down to:
Monday, October 26, 2009 - 10:02AM (show #54859696) and click on it. The show should come right up and its an hour long.
Linnda Durre is the host and the show is Christian based. I talked about living with a disability and my books
When reading for pleasure what is your favorite genre?
I love to read literary fiction. I enjoyed Elizabeth Kostova’s, The Historian, Margaret George’s, Helen of Troy, Dan Brown’s, The DaVinci Code, Nicholas Spark’s, A Walk To Remember, and Jennifer Egan’s, The Keep. I also love historical, paranormal and science fiction as well as fantasy and mainstream. My bookshelves are graced with all the books every written by Diana Gabaldon, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Karen Marie Moning, Julie Garwood, Samantha James and Constance O’Day-Flannery. I try to read a series of books by one author each summer. This year I’m reading Marion Zimmer Bradley.
I love the idea of this book. How did you decide to add such an element of intrigue to The Vanity? It sounds like another paranormal to me. Is this a sequel to Coma Coast?
When I was a young girl I loved the comic strip “Mandrake the Magician.” In this strip Mandrake went into a mirror world to battle an evil entity. I never forgot the plot. When Jules, Coma Coast’s secondary character, evolved so strongly I decided to write a sequel and expand the comic strip’s premise, making her the heroine to combat the problem.
What are the characteristics you like the most about your heroine?
Jules is a real-life gal coping with real-life problems…. her weight, jealousy, insecurities. Yet she brings what strength she harbors from deep within to the surface and comes out on top.
Is your hero tall, dark and handsome or is he like someone you would really meet?
A.J. is tall, blonde, comes from a middle-class family, (in comparison to the wealthy family Jules is from) and is average looking guy… a man who wants to make it as a lawyer on his own merits and give back to the community…. definitely a person I’d meet… and like to be around. What makes him so dynamic is his unconditional love for Jules. In spite of a misunderstanding that temporarily separates them and his unbelief in the supernatural, when he’s called upon to save her life, he rises to the occasion and wins the day for them both.
Of the characters you have written about, which one is your favorite? (Don’t you just hate that question?)
No… I don’t hate the question… I just think it’s a terribly hard one to answer. I love them all, as I do my children. Each one is unique, special in their own way, and all of them are created by me. But if I have to chose, I think I enjoyed bringing Jules to life. She’s got problems, has doubts, and she isn’t the perfect woman… in fact throughout her life she’s battled a weight problem…. envied the tall, willowy woman and never felt significant. Yet she wins the day, the man, and even rids the world of a villain.
Can you tell us a bit about the location of this story?
Port Rose is a fictitious, quaint, little bedroom community outside of Boston. I love making up towns. In this way I have full range to create whatever streets and landmarks I want to suit the plot. And no one can call me up on incorrect research, because the entire place only exists in my own mind.
If you could be stranded on a desert island with one of your heroes, which one would you pick and why?
I’d probably pick Proud Eagle, an Apache warrior who is the hero in book one of a historical series I am currently rewriting/revising entitled, The Golden Lady. He’s a man all women dream of being stranded with… strong, wise, gentle yet masculine and very attentive. With his Native American spirituality and oneness with nature, he’d survive anywhere and teach me how to stay alive too.
When you write do you like solitude or do you have music going in the background?
I have to have complete solitude…no noise what-so-ever and no one around. I am thankful my children are grown and gone, and my husband works in the afternoon, or I’d get absolutely nothing accomplished.
Do you work on more than one story at once?
Yes… sometimes three and four at a time. I have a very organized writing schedule. On Monday I read… I am a true believer that reading enhances writing. Studying the style, sentence structure, dialogue techniques and point of view of other accomplished authors helps me to see what I should and shouldn’t do. On Tuesday and Wednesday I work on my main novel… this being either the sequel to a previous novel or the one I’ve worked the most on. Then on Thursday and Friday I split my attention on a secondary or third novel. When the first novel is complete, I move up novel two, and work on three and so on. With the amount of time (one year to eighteen months) it takes for one novel to be accepted, edited and released, if I didn’t have at least two manuscripts finished to submit, my author’s trail would grow cold. If that should happen I’d have to start building my reader’s fan base all over again. Besides reading and writing, there is always a day here and there that I donate to doing research… which I love and can get lost in, so I have to really discipline myself.
This one is just for fun. What is your favorite thing to order when you go out for the evening?
Well, I’m assuming you mean for dinner, so that’s how I will answer. I love filet mignon (butter-flied and cooked well-done), sautéed mushrooms, tossed, romaine salad smothered in Italian dressing, and a tall, cold glass of skim milk. If I order dessert it would be chocolate cake with a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I don’t eat red meat at home, and rarely indulge in rich desserts because of a high cholesterol problem (inherited from my Italian parents), so when I do go out for a nice dinner, I splurge. Also, being a full-blooded Italian, I love Italian food served with a nice red wine, Italian bread and maybe for dessert a glass of iced water with a lemon twist and a dish of Italian ice-cream.
