Authors' Homes to Visit: O'Henry, Pearl Buck and Noah Webster

O'Henry lead an interesting life. In those days life expectancy was less and the number of childrn was more. He was one of almost a dozen siblings. His mother died when he was a child and his younger sister died.

When he came of age, he eloped with an heiress who had TB (also then called consumption.)



Embezzelement & Prison
He held a job but was suspected of embezzling and fled to Hondurus. But his wife was too ill to travel. When he heard she was dying he returned, and was imprisoned.

Pen Names
He used various names as pen names, possibly, probably, partly to hide his identity whilst a prisoner.

He wrote stories featuring characters he met in prison. His other source was by loitering around hotel lobbies and copying characters and stories picked up from conversation. (Somerset Maughm also picked up stories in hotels.)

Plots And Twist Endings
You can read a summary of three or more of the plots of his twist end stories in Wikipedia.

By the end of his life he was a reformed and respected character. He has been featured on a US postage stamp and several US presidents have tried to award him a posthumus pardon.

Quotations from O'Henry
 ... life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

• "The Gift of the Magi"

Visit the O'Henry Museum in Austin, Texas.
And it's free!

CONTACT INFO

Phone: 512-974-1398

Email

Physical Address:

409 East 5th Street
Austin, TX 78701

USA

See Map

Opening Hours:

• Wednesday.-Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m.
• Admission: Free
• Parking: Metered street parking

The USA has many homes of authors. When I was living in the USA I visited several. The ones I remember most include the home of Webster who compiled the dictionary with reformed spelling which turned night into nite.

Noah Webster House Museum

• 227 South Main St. West Hartford CT, 06107
• 860.521.5362, USA.

There iz no alternativ.

Noah Webster. (Wikiquote.)

Pearl Buck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• 

Ah well, perhaps one has to be very old before one learns how to be amused rather than shocked.

Museums and historic houses

Pearl S. Buck's study in Lushan Pearl S. Buck Villa

Several historic sites work to preserve and display artifacts from Pearl's profoundly multicultural life:

• Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia
• Green Hills Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
• The Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Association in Zhenjiang, China [1]
• Pearl S. Buck House in Nanjing University, China [2]
• The Pearl S. Buck Summer Villa, on Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China
• The Pearl S. Buck Memorial Hall, Bucheon City, South Korea^[46]
• Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA 18944 USA,215-249-0100

Useful websites
http://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum


visittheusa.co.uk
Texas
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/authors/search/?query=Henry,+O.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_S._Buck
Connecticut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster_House
https://noahwebsterhouse.org/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and blogger, and writer of short stories. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Holiday Reading - Comedy, Tragedy, Tragic-Comedy Or Fun Fiction - packing books, suggestions

Problem
What do you read about the country before you go there? On holiday? When delayed at the airport? On the beach?

Why Misery Memoirs?
A misery memoir, which makes you find your delays and inconveniences pale by comparison?

Write A Novel
In November you can sign up to write your own novel. (Maybe faction - fact turned into fiction to protect you from libel action by your nearest and dearest!

A Good Story
I just reminded my neighbours of the time they took in an umbrella I had delivered, thinking it was a free gift from a catalogue company. Now they say they have no recall of this incident. Luckily we are all on good terms. They just grin and say, "No recollection of this - but it's a great story!")

Prison Memoirs
I like to read true stories. Ideally with a happy end.

However, other people like drama, horror stories, read about the 'Bangkok Hilton' - prison. I frown. Unless you are planning to risk ending up in prison, why subject yourself to such miserable reading!

I must admit, I have read three prison memoirs. They make rivetting reading. They make me think about not carrying anything for anybody else.

Refusing Parcels
I suppose it's a warning not to ever take a parcel for anybody else. I was asked to take a parcel on a ferry by a stranger.  No way. A nuisance. A stress. A danger. I told her to give it to the ferry staff.

Then, good friends ask my family to bring over items from shops.

If you do take a parcel, insist that it is unwrapped because it is going to be unwrapped by the customs officers anyway. And insist that the person who gave it to you puts their name and instructions on it including their signature e.g. wedding gift from John Brown to Auntie Mabel.

How do you refuse? Say you are already overweight. Tell them you are unsure of your direction and time or travel and to send their parcel by air, tracked, instead.

Carrying Books
To save delays, open all wrapped goods, such as those sent by Amazon and carried along with you. Re-seal them so they don't fall apart and are protected, but can be quickly inspected.

Cover paperback books with protective covers, preferably waterproof covers or ziplock bags so your water does not spill onto them.

What do you want to read?
Here's a list I made at Writers' Summer School when I attended an excellent course run by Paul Dodgson at The Hayes, Swanwick, Derbyshire:

Other People’s Houses Core Segal (Kindertransport siblings).

Into the Arms of Strangers.

Writing Autobiography by Laurie Lee

Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall

A million little pieces by James Frey

Clive James Unreliable Memoirs

Jan Morris Conundrum

Beach books
Pick your own comedy or chick lit.

Misery Memoirs
Bad Blood by Lorna Sage.
(My book group read this. The book group organizer said, "A misery memoir - but funny!"

Evocation of The past
Rosie by Rose Tremain.
I read an extract. Not enough action for me. But others like the picture of the past.

Prison And Prison Escape Books
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/apr/11/books-behind-bars-five-best-stories-prison-life-alan-sillitoe-erwin-james

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.