Behind the scenes in House Key
The scene that I visualized was of King standing in the middle of Great Run after he had absconded with Spade during the night. While Spade caught his breath after galloping through the woods, King was considering his next move, … Continued
Bunny Mellon: The Life of an American Style Legend by Meryl Gordon My rating: 5 of 5 stars I gave this book five stars because I found it to be a well-written, balanced and researched biography of Bunny Mellon, whose … Continued
A modern scene for a painting of King searching for Mosby through the woods on Spade in 1863
A friend, who had been cleaning out old boxes in her parents’ house, came across this photograph of her great-grandfather’s former home, dated 1929. She rushed over to show it to me, asking if I could guess which house it … Continued
A Pride of Place: Rural Residences of Fauquier County, Virginia by Kimberly Prothro Williams My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book offers a good overview of Fauquier County historic homes and their architectural history. It is well-researched and laid … Continued
Another big take-away from Hemingway on Writing, edited by Larry W. Phillips — along with making characters real — is knowing Country. Living and writing in Africa and Spain allowed Hemingway to write compelling novels in those settings. Hemingway advocates that you … Continued
Love this view of Great Run! It’s an oil on copper by Patty Rice that absolutely captures the essence of one my favorite spots described in House Key. Jordan first introduces us to it in Chapter Four, Jury of Peers: “We reached … Continued
“Chapter 30: Country Road” in House Key is not only about love and remorse but about celebrating things unique to Fauquier county that enrich the lives of its inhabitants. “Country Road” is about wild berries and wine, about how Jordan and Santiago … Continued
I didn’t believe my Smart phone weather app. It predicted a 50% chance of thunderstorms in half an hour. But the sky was as blue as innocence and I’m smarter than Siri. No way was there a storm coming, even though June … Continued
The Gray Ghost, whose fictionalized character plays an historical role in “House Key”, is legendary. General Mosby, who had a significant impact on the course of the Civil War earned the nickname for being as effective in his tactics as he … Continued
