Guide to Writer's Homes in New England [Paperback]

Miriam Levine (Author), Carolyn Keene (Author), Cora Older (Author), Ruth Wentworth (Author), E. Ruddock (Author), Robert Stevenson (Author), F. Mathews (Author), Ernest Thompson (Author), Franklin Dixon (Author), Margaret Sutton (Author), Harriet Stowe (Author), Library Of Congress (Compiler), Pillsbury Company (Compiler), Applewood Books (Compiler), Marvel Entertainment Group (Creator), Walt Disney Studios (Creator), Tom Siebert (Illustrator)

Book Description

A guide to the homes, open to the public, of New Englandís most famous authors, such as Dickinson, Twain, Frost, and Alcott.

Editorial Reviews

Review

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Charles Dresner [phone] [e-mail] Applewood Books to Publish Entire Judy Bolton Mystery Series through American Web Books Website Bedford, MA (October 12, 2002) -- Girl sleuth Judy Bolton is coming back! Applewood Books President Phil Zuckerman announced today he has reached an agreement with the estate of Margaret Sutton to bring all 38 of the Judy Bolton Mystery Books back into print in facsimiles of the original editions through AmericanWebBooks.com. Sutton, who died last year at the age of 98, is the author of all the books, making it one of the very few children's book series written by a single author. "Applewood Books is delighted to be able to make these fabulous books available to a whole new generation of young readers," Zuckerman said, "as well as to their parents and grandparents who grew up with them. Collectors will be especially excited to see them with the original cover art and interior design." The Judy Bolton mysteries were launched with The Vanishing Shadow in 1932 by publisher Grosset and Dunlap and went on to become one of the most successful series ever in children's book publishing, selling 5,000,000 copies. The last book, The Secret of the Sand Castle, was released in 1967. Judy Bolton books have been highly praised for their realism, fine writing and careful plotting not usually found in children's series fiction. Sutton used actual contemporary events as the basis for her stories and allowed her characters to grow and wrestle with the social issues of the day. The settings are based on places where Sutton and her family lived in Pennsylvania's Potter County. Coudersport, where she grew up, became Farringdon, the setting for many of the books; Austin, PA, the scene of a great flood in 1911, became Roulsville in The Vanishing Shadow. These Judy Bolton books will only be available for purchase at AmericanWebBooks.com, a division of Applewood Books, Inc. AmericanWebBooks.com is a new way of keeping America's historic literary tradition alive by making it possible for people to bring back into print favorite books from childhood or other historic works just as they remember them. Visitors to AmericanWebBooks.com can suggest books for publication or become "partner publishers" with the company. --more-- Applewood Books (www.awb.com), publishers of facsimile editions of original Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Tom Swift books, specializes in books from America's living past. Founded in 1976 by Phil Zuckerman, Applewood publishes 25 to 30 new books a year and has over 500 books in its backlist. Imprints include Books of American Wisdom and Quote/Unquote. ### For more information, contact: Phil Zuckerman, President Applewood Books 128 The Great Road Bedford, MA 01730 [phone] [e-mail] -OR- Charles Dresner, Director of Sales & Marketing Applewood Books 128 The Great Road Bedford, MA 01730 [phone] [e-mail]

About the Author

The Library of Congress is an institution whose collections are international in scope and is considered the nation's library.

Pillsbury Publications is the publisher of Pillsbury Classic(R) Cookbooks and Come & Eat!(R) magazines and the author of "Pillsbury: Best Muffins & Quick Breads Cookbook, Pillsbury: Best Desserts, Pillsbury: Best Cookies Cookbook, Pillsbury: Best Chicken Cookbook, Pillsbury: The Best of Classic(R) Cookbooks, Pillsbury: Fast and Healthy(R) Cookbook, Pillsbury: Best of the Bake-Off(R) Cookbook, Pillsbury: One-Dish Meals Cookbook, Pillsbury Complete Cookbook, Pillsbury: 30-Minute Meals, Pillsbury Doughboy(TM) Family Pleasing Recipes, Pillsbury: Complete Book of Baking and Pillsbury: Healthy Baking,"

Carolyn Keene is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective and Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series.

1850-1894

Naturalist, bird lover, composer, and artist F. Schuyler Mathews studied the birds who frequented the woods and fields near his Campton, NH home. He translated the bird song he heard into musical notes and published his transcriptions and bird descriptions in his Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music in 1904.

Franklin W. Dixon was the pseudonym devised by Edward Stratemeyer for the author of a series of mystery books he was developing which became the Hardy Boys series. The first book, The Tower Treasure, originally published in 1927, was written by Leslie MacFarlane who went on to write 19 more, including #2 through #16. In all, there are 58 titles in the original Hardy Boys Mysteries series published between 1927 and 1979 written by 17 different men and women. Many of the books were later revised, adding another four "Franklin W. Dixons" to the total.

Margaret Sutton was born Rachel Irene Beebe in Odin, Pennsylvania in 1903. She was the daughter of Victor Beebe, a well-known historian, and Estella Andrews Beebe. Being a spirited nonconformist, she dropped out of high school, but in 1920, graduated from the Rochester Business Institute. After graduation, she worked for several years as a secretary and in printing. During that time, she met William Sutton at a church dance in New York City. After a courtship exchanging poems and playing chess, they were married in 1924, and she began writing stories for her husband's daughter, Dorothy. Her first Judy Bolton Mystery was published in 1932 under the pen name Margaret Sutton. Ms. Sutton wove many real events and places into the Judy Bolton stories through the 35-year history of the series. She also wrote numerous stories for children and young adults. She was also active in social causes, joining the historic March on Washington in 1964. In 1965, her husband of more than 40 years died. In 1975, after traveling extensively, she married a long-time family friend, Everett Hunting. They moved to Berkeley, California and made their home there until 1993 when they moved back to Pennsylvania. Mr. Hunting died shortly after they moved. In 2001, at the age of 98, Margaret Sutton died in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, not far from her native Potter County.

Harriet Beecher, born in Litchfield, CT in 1811, married Lane Theological Seminary professor and ardent critic of slavery Calvin Stowe in 1836. The Stowes supported the Underground Railroad, housing several runaway slaves in their home. Author of numerous fiction and non-fiction works, she is best known for "Uncle Tom's Cabin," published in 1852.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Applewood Books (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918222516
• ISBN-13: 978-0918222510
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,894,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 20 years old but still useful, June 25, 2004

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Guide to Writer's Homes in New England (Paperback)

Even though it's not current, this book is a decent guide for travelers intending to visit literary homes in New England. It could also serve as an introduction to the lives of major authors. Featured here are home descriptions for Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Eugene O'Neill, Edith Wharton, Helman Melville, William Cullen Bryant, Emily Dickinson, Bronson Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Robert Frost, and Sarah Orne Jewett. Each entry begins with a detailed line-drawing view of the house by illustrator Tom Siebert. It's followed by basic site information, an author photo, author chronology and extensive biography. Site information should be checked with another source, for hours and admission prices are sure to be different now. Each site has a web page by this time too. I've visited 8 of the 19 homes described here, and I can tell you that while much of the information is applicable, at least few major site changes have taken place for the better. Emily Dickinson's home in Amherst, Mass., has undergone administrative changes, and it's now more accessible than it used to be. At Walden Pond, a replica of Thoreau's cabin now stands next to the parking lot, while the original site is a brisk walk away along the far north side of the pond. The book also includes 11 pages listing other minor literary sites in New England. If you enjoy reading the works of these authors and want to see where they created them, this guide is for you. Someone should produce a third edition that's up-to-date.