Glory Day (1994)
Ellen: “Haven’t you ever had sex dreams about people?”
Paige: “Ellen, I’m a doer, not a dreamer.”
“Who shot JR?” In 1980, the question was on everyone’s lips, bumper stickers, and magazine covers. Television audiences were delirious to discover who had fired two .38 caliber bullets into the disreputable oil tycoon during the third season’s finale of Dallas. Seventeen years later, Ellen replicated the furor; on that occasion the question: Is she or isn’t she?
Seen the Glory (1861)
Songs have oftentimes encapsulated the spirit of protest and become synonymous with a movement. In 1772 former slave trader turned abolitionist, John Newton, penned “Amazing Grace,” an ode against slavery. In 1969 during his ‘bed-in,” John Lennon composed “Give Peace a Chance” against the Vietnam War. In 1972 Helen Reddy, the voice from Down Under, became the roar of Women’s Liberation. Another paean was born during a clash between the blue and the gray.
Women's Spaces (2024)
Still Somewhere
“Sorrow lies like a heartbeat behind everything I have written.”
–P. L. Travers
The Story Bank (opened in 2019)
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
If the east wind blows you into the town of Maryborough, visit The Story Bank to partake of heaping spoonfuls of sugar. The museum was the birthplace of P. L. Travers, the Australian-born author of British nanny, Mary Poppins.
Remember the Lady
“Give up the harsh title of Master for the more tender and endearing one of Friend.”
–Abigail Adams
If one listens intensely enough, the walls of Peace field do talk. They whisper of Founding Mother, Abigail Adams, who admonished the periwigs to share power with the petticoats. To discover an intriguing slice of America, explore the Old House at Peace field.
T.G.I.M. (1962)
In the 2003 episode of The Simple Life, Paris Hilton, claiming she had never heard of Walmart, asked if it was a place where “they sold wall stuff.” Although Paris does not frequent Walmart, millions do, oblivious to the fact that Samuel Walton, (the last three letters of his surname and the word ‘mart-’abbreviation for market), served as the namesake of the megastore.
ThIs Great War
“There is more done with pens than swords.” –Harriet Beecher Stowe
Extraordinary novels have had a global impact: John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and George Orwell’s 1984. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin altered history as it helped ignite the American Civil War. To learn about the female great emancipator, follow the road to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.
Jewel in the Crown (1982)
If the Grimm brothers had championed morganatic marriages, Cinderella would still be sweeping cinders, Rapunzel would remain trapped in her tower, Snow White would yet slumber. Similarly, if the English monarchy had harkened to the matrimonial rule of yesteryear, a throne would not beckon for a coal miner’s “daughter.”
The Other Hamilton
“No lapse of time, no nearness to the grave, makes any difference.”
–Eliza Hamilton on her refusal to forgive President James Monroe
At the conclusion of the megahit musical, Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton lets out a gasp, followed by the chorus breaking into the haunting lyrics, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” A way to discover Eliza’s story is to visit the Hamilton Grange house-museum.
Let History Make the Judgment (1993)
A Room of One's Own
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.”
–Virginia Woolf
Monk’s House (opened 1981)
East Sussex, England
Leonard Wolf observed, “What cuts the deepest channels in our lives are the different houses in which we live.” His words apply to Monk’s House that served as a lighthouse for him and his writer-wife, Virginia.
The Last Word (1501)
Graves are Always Tidy
Chapter # Graves are Always Tidy
“One can give up many things for love, but one should not give up oneself.” -Edith Wharton
The Mount (opened 2002 )
Lennox, Massachusetts
The writer who punctured the stereotype of the starving artist, Edith Wharton comes across as a cosseted, stiff-necked dowager, with stays firmly fastened. However, if passion had not beat under the primness, she could never have penned her passionate epics. To partake of her gilded world, grab your lorgnette and head to The Mount.
Ready to Depart
The Karen Blixen Museum (opened in 1986)
Nairobi, Kenya
“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills…” are the opening words of Karen Blixen’s memoir of her seventeen-year sojourn in Nairobi. Visiting her former home, now the Karen Blixen Museum, is to return to a yesterday where the “The Dark Continent,” then the domain of British East Africa, was the paradise-playground of rich Europeans.
The Past
“Never relight a dead cigarette or an old passion.”
–Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield House & Garden (opened 1988)
Wellington, New Zealand
The possessors of sphinxlike personalities prove challenging subjects for their biographers who must strip off various masks. Katherine Mansfield, in her journal, paraphrased Polonius’ words from Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, “True to oneself Which self?” To best understand the New Zealand enigma, journey to the landscape of her childhood: the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden.
Of Their Number
“Afflictions are the steps to heaven.”
–Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton
The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (opened 1965)
Emmitsburg, Maryland
A Negro spiritual, popularized by Louis Armstrong, begins with the lyrics, “Oh, when the saints go marching in, oh, when the saints go marching in…” To learn about the woman who traversed the road from socialite to saint, head to Emmitsburg, Maryland, the site of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Iron Butterfly
“The people need a role model…especially in the dark of night.”
–Imelda Marcos
Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum (opened 1979)
Tacloban, Philippines
If a Grimm’s brother princess possessed the ability to write, her message would read, “A new pair of shoes can change your life-Cinderella.” A former First Lady of the Philippines would have wholeheartedly agreed. To partake of a dwelling of fairy tale proportions, enter the estate of the Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum.
Bid Time Return
“Surely for everything you love, you have to pay some price.”
–Agatha Christie
Greenway House (opened 2009)
Devon, England
As a rule of thumb, people are not salivating to visit an isolated manor whose hostess’ specialty is poison, where random bodies turn up. While the latter scenario is the case in Agatha Christie’s novels, the author’s retreat, Greenway House, is a pastoral estate to which fans flock.
Coded Diary
“The more spontaneous the pleasure, the more happy the result.” – Beatrix Potter
Hill Top (opened 1946)
Near Sawrey, Lake District, England
For over a century, children have delighted in the adventures of Peter Rabbit, the bunny who dressed in blue coat with brass buttons. To enter the whimsical world of his creator, Beatrix Potter, hop on over to the Lake District’s Hill Top.
Quiet Earth
“My home is humble and unattractive to strangers, but to me it contains what I shall find nowhere else in the world-the affection which brothers and. Sisters feel for each other.”
–Charlotte Brontë
Brontë Parsonage Museum (opened 1928)
Yorkshire, England
Historic houses reverberate with secrets, and one is how an isolated parsonage on a windswept moor produced the passion that birthed two immortal love stories. To enter the confessional of the original weird sisters-Emily Jane, Charlotte, and Anne-one can journey to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, a British literary shrine second only to Stratford-on-Avon.