Nancy Caldwell relocates to an old sea captain's house on Cape Cod with her husband and four children. When she discovers an abandoned root cellar in her backyard containing a baby's skull and gold coins, she digs up evidence that links her land to the legendary tale of Maria Hallett and her pirate lover, Sam Bellamy. Using alternating chapters between the 18th and 21st centuries, The Old Cape House, a historical fiction, follows two women that are lifetimes apart, to uncover a mystery that has had the old salts of Cape Cod guessing for 300 years.
Nancy Caldwell relocates to an old sea captain's house on Cape Cod with her husband and four children. When she discovers an abandoned root cellar in her backyard containing a baby's skull and gold coins, she digs up evidence that links her land to the legendary tale of Maria Hallett and her pirate lover, Sam Bellamy. Using alternating chapters between the 18th and 21st centuries, The Old Cape House, a historical fiction, follows two women that are lifetimes apart, to uncover a mystery that has had the old salts of Cape Cod guessing for 300 years.2014 Winner ~ First Place in Historical Fiction ~ Royal Dragonfly Awards!
Introduction -- Sixteenth-century England -- Early seventeenth century -- Late seventeenth century -- Characteristics of the Cape Cod house -- Historic homes -- Other Cape Cod towns with historic Cape Cod homes -- Conclusion
Faced with the sale of the century-old family summer house on Cape Cod where he had spent forty-two summers, George Howe Colt recounts returning for one last stay with his wife and children in this stunning memoir that was a National Book Award Finalist and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. This poignant tribute to the eleven-bedroom jumble of gables, bays, and dormers that watched over weddings, divorces, deaths, anniversaries, birthdays, breakdowns, and love affairs for five generations interweaves Colt’s final visit with memories of a lifetime of summers. Run-down yet romantic, The Big House stands not only as a cherished reminder of summer’s ephemeral pleasures but also as a powerful symbol of a vanishing way of life.
Presents a series of interlinking stories that capture the lives and fortunes of the various occupants of an old Massachusetts house over the course of two centuries.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls delivers his most intimate novel yet: "An astute portrait of a 30-year marriage, in all its promise and pain…. His honest, heartfelt storytelling—like a cooling breeze off a certain New England shoreline—has never felt fresher" (People). For Griffin, all paths, all memories, converge at Cape Cod. The Cape is where he took his childhood summer vacations, where he and his wife, Joy, honeymooned, where they decided he’d leave his LA screenwriting job to become a college professor, and where they celebrated the marriage of their daughter Laura’s best friend. But when their beloved Laura’s wedding takes place a year later, Griffin is caught between chauffeuring his mother’s and father’s ashes in two urns and contending with Joy and her large, unruly family. Both he and she have also brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened? By turns hilarious, rueful, and uplifting, That Old Cape Magic is a profoundly involving novel about marriage, family, and all the other ties that bind. Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.
Rea Bochner bursts onto the literary scene with this unforgettable memoir, a deeply touching story of mothers and daughters, love and loss, the power of holding on to each other and the strength it takes to let go. The Cape House is a story both personal and universal, told with fearless honesty and laugh-out-loud humor. It begins on the day that Bochner's mother, Debbi, tells her that she's received a prognosis of terminal cancer, and has decided to move to the family's beloved summer home in Cape Cod to die. Over the next six weeks, as Debbi deteriorates, Bochner writes the story of her family, and looks back on the winding road she trudged with her mother through addiction, recovery, and redemption. Readers travel with the author from Phoenix, Arizona, to a medieval Dutch castle, to the Old City of Jerusalem, where an array of colorful characters shape her destiny in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, Bochner presents a real-life portrait of a family struggling to stay together, even as their personal journeys threaten to tear them apart. As both a eulogy for and a celebration of an exceptional woman, Rea Bochner writes unflinchingly of the powerful bond between a mother and her daughter. The result is a moving book that carries the readers from tears to laughter, from mourning to triumph. The Cape House is a testament to love as a force of nature, and the journey of one woman to discover herself."This irresistible, spiritual memoir is chock full of irreverence, heart, astonishing insight and laugh-out-loud humor - and not a drop of shmaltz. Altogether a jewel of a book." - Ruchama King Feuerman, author of "In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist""Rea Bochner's The Cape House is a book to read again and again. The poignant memoir of her mother is heartbreaking, hilarious, and impossible to put down. Few writers can handle such themes as family and death with the seamless grace as Bochner does in The Cape House. Even more unbelievable is that this book is a debut. Rea Bochner is a stand-out author who we will surely see more from for many years." - Laura Wieland, author of "The Final Swing""Rea Bochner is a fantastic writer, a marvelous storyteller and a deeply empathetic soul. Read "The Cape House" and be inspired and uplifted. And she's funny!" - Sara Benincasa, author of "Real Artists Have Day Jobs"
An integral part of the renowned beauty of South Africa's southwestern Cape are the Cape Dutch houses that date back 200-300 years. This historical and potographic record explores 150 old houses, paying tribute to the architects and craftsmen who built them.
Life is full of surprises, but family is forever… After their mother’s death, Daisy and Beatriz Davenport found a home with their aunt Stella in the beautiful town of Cape Sanctuary. They never knew what Stella sacrificed to ensure they had everything. Now, with Daisy and Bea grown, it’s time for Stella to reveal a secret that will change their family forever. Bea thought she was done with impulsiveness after her roller-coaster marriage to a rock star ended — especially since it gave her her wonderful eleven-year-old daughter, Marisol. But just as she’s beginning to pursue a new love with an old friend, Bea’s ex-husband resurfaces and turns their lives upside down. Then there’s Daisy — sensible, rational, prudent Daisy. She’s never taken a risk in her life — until she meets a man who makes her question everything she thought she knew about love, life and taking chances. In this heartwarming story, Stella, Bea and Daisy will discover that the path to true happiness is filled with twists and turns, but love always leads them back home.
The classic nature memoir of Cape Cod in the early twentieth century, “written with simplicity, sympathy, and beauty” (New York Herald Tribune). When Henry Beston returned home from World War I, he sought refuge and healing at a house on the outer beach of Cape Cod. He was so taken by the natural beauty of his surroundings that his two-week stay extended into a yearlong solitary adventure. He spent his time trying to capture in words the wonders of the magical landscape he found himself in thrall to. In The Outermost House, Beston chronicles his experiences observing the migrations of seabirds, the rhythms of the tide, the windblown dunes, and the scatter of stars in the changing summer sky. Beston argued: “The world today is sick to its thin blood for the lack of elemental things, for fire before the hands, for water, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot.” Nearly a century after publication, Beston’s words are more true than ever.
