Locust Grove Spring Used Book Sale 2015

I kept telling myself I wasn't going to go shopping at the semi-annual used book sale sponsored by Locust Grove Historic Home last weekend. I haven't even read all the books I bought at the Summer Sale. Well, you can guess how that conversation ended. 

I broke down on Sunday and went (I blame it on cabin fever due to the snow) and it turns out everything was half price which only made the selection more enticing. 

Here are my finds:

Coronation Summer by Angela Thirkell

There were quite a few Thirkell's this time. I don't believe I have seen any on offer at previous sales. I bought this one because I love the cover. The coronation in the title is that of Queen Victoria in 1838 and is the story of a young girl's trip to London to witness the festivities.

**

The Beside 'Guardian': Number 8

On the last Grand Southern Literary Tour I scored several Beside 'Guardian' books from the 1970s and '80s. This much earlier volume includes articles from 1958-59 and has a forward and selections from Alistair Cooke which meant that I absolutely had to have it.

**

Hunting Season by Andrea Camilleri

Once again, I was attracted by a colorful cover. This is a mystery story that takes place in Italy. How could I go wrong?

The author writes the popular Inspector Montalbano series (Full Disclosure: none of which I have read). 

**

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper

by Harriet Scott Chessman

This novel paints a portrait of American artist Mary Cassatt from the view of her sister (and model) Lydia. There are five color portraits of Lydia reproduced here. Even if I don't read the book, just think how lovely it will be sitting on my bedside table or at my desk.

** 

The Cat-Nappers by P.G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse! Need I explain?

**

Summer Used Book Sale 2013 - The Softcovers

I showed much restraint (for me, anyway) at yesterday's Summer Used Book Sale at historic Locust Grove. I showed up with a shopping bag holding six books to donate and left with the same shopping bag holding eight books bought. A net gain of two. 

I try to stick with hardcover editions, but this time I came away with five quality paperbacks and three hardcover books. 

The books on display are so well sorted. There is one section of the room filled with antiquarian and specially priced books that I just browsed through after I had made my other picks. The rest of the room is filled with hardcovers for $2 and paperbacks for $1. I hit the Literature section first - lots of older books in hardcover - then Fiction, Travel, and a brief browse at the Children's display. I bypassed Gardening, History, Cooking, and Art. 

I try to stay focused.

My hand reached out to many books before I realized that either I already had a copy of that title or I at one time had had a copy of it and had given it away. 

This was the first time I remembered to take my own shopping bag and boy, was that convenient. Much easier than carrying heavy books in the crook of my arm. 

Here are the trade paperback books I nabbed:

Best American Essays 1994 edited by Tracy Kidder and Best American Essays 2000 edited by Alan Lightman - I can't resist a book of essays and within these two collections are pieces by Adam Gopnik, Nicholson Baker, Louise Erdrich, John Updike, Jamaica Kincaid, Mary Gordon, Cynthia Ozick, and Terry Tempest Williams.

Mama Makes Up Her Mind (1994) by Bailey White - Ms. White is perhaps best known as a regular contributor on National Public Radio. This book contains a collection of essays and anecdotes on Southern eccentricity, of which there is plenty. Ms. White grew up and lives in Georgia so she has a lot to say, I'm sure.

A Walk in the Woods (1998) by Bill Bryson - I adore Mr. Bryson and would gladly walk with him anywhere. The woods in this book happen to be along the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail. Just a small hike that Mr. Bryson took and wrote about. 

Hotel Pastis (1994) by Peter Mayle - A piece of fiction about a English advertising executive who moves to Provence and transforms an abandoned police station into Hotel Pastis. As always, I am sure Mr. Mayle will delight.

Tomorrow: The hardcovers.

Jane Austen Festival: Part 2

The fans were aflutter yesterday at the Jane Austen Festival held on the grounds of Locust Grove Historic Home. It was a lovely setting - hot but with plenty of shade and an occasional cool breeze. 

I arrived just after the gates opened at 10 a.m. - the gates being four women on either side of the entrance collecting the $12 fee and giving directions to parking. It all went very smoothly and within minutes I was surrounded by women and men dressed in Regency fashions. Bonnets and reticules and Empire-waisted frocks abounded. It was really quite delightful.

Two friends showing off parasol and bonnet

This handsome couple was visiting from Canada

Cute Nora Sweeney

Isn't she perfect?

I was hoping to snatch a seat at one of the five teas that were being held but they were all sold out. 

On the grounds women and men paraded about among the trees and sauntered in and out of the tents set up as shops selling all sorts of period jewelry, parasols, floor cloths, bonnets and hats, and chatelaines. Some folks rested at picnic tables. I found a nice long bench in the shade of the house and just people-watched for a while. 

The large main tent was set up with chairs and hosted a play, a Regency fashion show, and a entertaining presentation called "Dressing Mr. Darcy" in which a handsome young man, Brian Cushing, deconstructed what men wore in Ms. Austen's time: the hat, the cravat, the waistcoat, the braces (suspenders), the undershirt, the pants, socks, and boots. 

Mr. Darcy Before...

...and Mr. Darcy after.

From the style show:

Love the feathered hat!

The jacket comes off ...

That blur is her fan

A gentlemen farmer

I saw a bare-knuckle boxing match and a duel between gentlemen. A fellow with a sedan chair was giving short rides. 

Bare-knuckle fight

The loser in the duel between gentlemen

One mode of transportation - the sedan chair

My favorite booth was the paper marbling demonstration by artisan John Bielik from Missouri.  It is always fascinating to watch an artist at work and John certainly kept his audience engaged. Of course I had to purchase a sample of his work in the form of a small notebook with a marbled paper cover. 

Artisan John Bielik works his paper marbling magic

Using a comb, John marbles the paint

A finished product

I chatted with some of the Janeites and discovered they were from as far away as Ontario, Canada and Dallas, Texas. Others were from closer to home, Columbus, Ohio and Frankfort, Kentucky. Most of the ones I spoke with had previously attended this festival, now in its sixth year.

Melissa from Frankfort sporting a Regency turban

By 1:30 I was worn out from the heat and the activity. I can't imagine how warm some of the women were and especially the men in their heavy coats. I left before the panel discussion with authors of books of sequels and alternative endings to Austen's works. That wasn't happening until 3:30 and I would have melted into just a little damp puddle on the ground by then. 

There was to be a Grand Ball last evening and tickets to that were sold out. I am sure it was a success.

The event organizers are to be applauded. The festival was well-attended and today, Sunday, is another day for people to enjoy - more teas and the same activities and events. It was a very civilized and elegant affair.

Locust Grove Meets Jane Austen

Locust Grove
Built in 1790

It was a soggy Independence Day but I refused to be daunted and my visit to Locust Grove, one time home of George Rogers Clark, was quite a treat. Isn't it wonderful that some of these historic homes - this one was built in 1790 - have been preserved? And, the volunteers who take the time to familiarize themselves with the stories of the people who lived in them make the long-dead occupants come alive again.

I guess because it was such a rainy day, not too many people came out to take advantage of free admission to the house, so I had one volunteer, Jason, all to myself. He was on fire with the stories of Lucy Clark Groghan (George's sister), and her husband, William who had the brick house built on their 700-acre farm. 

We chatted for a long time in the room in which George Rogers Clark spent the final years of his life - from 1809 to 1819. By the time he came to live at Locust Grove, Jason told me, he was in poor health. He had had a stroke and due to a bad burn, one of his legs had been amputated. There was a ladderback chair in his room that had been outfitted with small wheels and since Clark's room was on the ground floor, he could get around to the dining room and the parlor and the estate office. 

I also learned that one of Lucy and William's sons, John Croghan, studied medicine under founding father and physician Benjamin Rush and in 1839 he bought Mammoth Cave and opened a tuberculosis clinic there. The thought at the time was that the constant cool temperature - about 54 degrees - would be restorative to patients.  It didn't work out and the hospital was only open a few months. 

Three presidents - Monroe, Taylor, and Jackson - all were guests in the home as well as artist John James Audubon.

I was surprised that there were no bookshelves in the house. William Croghan was a land surveyor - he and GRC were partners - and I thought maybe he would have had shelves built in. Although there were some odd books lying about, none of them had been actual possessions of the family. 

I learned that a couple of literary events are scheduled to be held on the grounds this summer. The sixth annual Jane Austen Festival will be happening July 20 and 21 and will celebrate the bicentennial of Pride and Prejudice. Last year, 1700 people attended workshops, a Regency fashion show, and afternoon tea. This year, there will be a reading marathon of P&P on the porch of the house.

In even better news, Locust Grove's summer used book sale is coming up in August. I have spent many a penny at these twice-a-year sales and have found some wonderful bargains. You can be sure the book sale dates are marked on my calendar.

An Independence Day Visit to a Historic Home

George Rogers Clark
1752-1818

To celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day in America, I am going to visit a historic home, Locust Grove, which was built here in the late 1700s by Lucy Clark and her husband William Croghan. Lucy was the sister of George Rogers Clark who is credited with founding our fair city and who was a hero of the Revolutionary War. He died in 1818 and spent the final nine years of his life with the Croghans at Locust Grove. 

His younger brother, William Clark, is the Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the western part of the country from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Both men stopped at Locust Grove in 1806 after returning from their explorations.

I have a copy of the Journals of Lewis and Clark published as part of National Geographic's Adventure Classics series. I have not read it, but I do like reading journals and diaries. This just may be the year!

I have never visited the house, which is on the National Historic Register, and today the home and the grounds are open and free to the public.  I will take advantage of the opportunity to explore this part of Kentucky and American history.