Susan's Books & Gifts

What drew Nathaniel Hawthorne to a remote village deep in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts in 1850? Slip into the fascinating social scene he encountered in the drawing rooms and on the croquet lawns of Lenox’s country retreats. Here, under the benevolent spell of the Sedgwick family, the separate worlds of high-minded Bostonians and high-powered New Yorkers were stitched together by conversation, recreation and even marriage. Nurturing the lively exchange of ideas on everything from art to abolition, Lenox’s cottages played host to a community that enlightened a nation. Luminaries such as Caroline Sturgis Tappan and Oliver Wendell Holmes resume their vibrant lives through the rare photographs and engaging sketches of everyday life in Hawthorne’s Lenox: The Tanglewood Circle, which also includes a delightful retrospective visit from Henry James and Edith Wharton.