Posted by Rizwan on 22/4/2008, 16:07:36, in reply to "Re: Edith Wharton's house"
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Two autumns ago I had the opportunity to visit "The Mount," Edith Wharton's huge, and hugely impressive, home. Truly idyllic place in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts, set on a small hill above beautiful gardens reminiscent of a mini-Versailles. Sad that, beautiful as this place is, Wharton often was incredibly unhappy and lonely there, mostly because of the bad marriage she was in. Also sad is what is happening to The Mount now, especially after the foundation caring for the place spent so long painstakingly restoring it after it was owned and abused by an elementary school for so many years. You can see photos of what I'm talking about here:
The Mount: http://www.edithwharton.org/
Regarding the library, the Mount only recently bought all her books from a dealer in Europe, bringing them all back to the Mount. From what I understand, it was the cost of doing this that put them in dire financial straights.
The highlight of the tour, besides the library and viewing the impressive grounds, was walking into the very bedroom (she always wrote on her bed, apparently) where she penned several novels, including "The House of Mirth."
Added bonus: just a few miles away from The Mount is Melville's home, Arrowhead. What a thrill to stand on the famous "piazza" of his stories, and gaze across the Berkshires to one particular humpbacked mountain that Melville said he looked at every day while writing one particular novel of his, because it reminded him of a giant whale.
Arrowhead: http://www.mobydick.org/
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