Martha Hall Kelly's Blog: Martha's Blog, page 8
December 2, 2018
A Fabulous New Discovery at The Bellamy-Ferriday House Polish Christmas
The Polish Christmas event at The Bellamy-Ferriday House in Bethlehem, CT. yesterday was so much fun. The incredible staff decorated Caroline Ferriday’s house so beautifully and to my surprise, this year’s theme was roses in honor of Lost Roses, the Lilac Girls prequel arriving this spring. Fresh roses were everywhere in the house, very welcome in a Connecticut winter, and I got to meet so many unbelievably wonderful Lilac Girls fans (even Caroline’s former hairdresser.) I loved meeting everyone, including a teacher with her brilliant students who showed me her copy of Lilac Girls, complete with a million Post-its and the Ott family, all the way from New Jersey, who created a multi-generational family book group to read Lilac Girls. I was delighted to find the house staff has opened a new exhibit on the tour, a rose room, where Caroline’s collection of rose books is displayed with great care. But the biggest surprise of the day came when tour guide Gary Cicognani told me he and site administrator Peg Shimer had opened a hidden drawer in one the desks at the house and discovered a photo of Caroline and her mother Eliza.
Isn’t it exquisite? Finding any new photos of Caroline or her family is so exciting for everyone at Connecticut Landmarks, but this one is especially moving, having just finished a book, which focuses on Caroline and her Mother’s strong bond and to top it all, Eliza is wearing roses in the photo. The house will close soon, the house and garden spending the winter months under a blanket of snow, but will open in the spring to welcome Lost Roses with a Random House launch event. Can’t wait for April!
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November 30, 2018
Beautiful Images the Spanish Lilac Girls Publisher Made for Kasia, Herta and Caroline
I’ve enjoyed working with Spanish publisher Ediciones Maeva on their new edition of Lilac Girls, (above–such a lovely cover) since their marketing is so clever and original. Just had to share these images below, which they created for each character. Love how they used a different symbol in each name.
Heading to Spain in February to meet Spanish Lilac Girls readers and can’t wait!
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November 16, 2018
Christmas Comes Early This Year at The Bellamy-Ferriday House
My friend Lee Reese recently gave me a 1996 copy of Colonial Homes with a wonderful article about Caroline Ferriday’s home, complete with fantastic photos of the home’s interiors. As we get ready to celebrate a fun event, A Polish Christmas at The Bellamy-Ferriday House December 1st, I thought it would be nice to share some of the pictures from the article. Those of you who’ve visited the house in spring know how lovely it looks, but it takes on a magical, festive feeling when dressed for the holidays. Enjoy the photos (I especially love the shots of Caroline’s purple transfer ware and of the roses on Caroline’s rose books, a precursor of Lost Roses) and hope to see you there for a Polish Christmas. You can find tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-polish-christmas-with-martha-hall-kelly-tickets-48735451046
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November 10, 2018
Found Some Charming Lilac Girls-themed Jewelry
At a recent Bellamy-Ferriday House event for Lilac Girls a small group of entrepreneurs gathered to offer their goods and I came across Nan Siegmund’s handmade jewelry. She bills her offerings as “whimsical hand-fashioned jewelry and other great finds” and I thought you’d enjoy seeing her Lilac Girls-inspired pieces. I have the red thread necklace, below, and love it.
She offers a silver necklace with a tiny spool of red thread, charm bracelets with Caroline’s pig and some other book related items.
You can contact Nan at her email: nan@playfulevent.com or call 917-701-1194.
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October 23, 2018
Like Some Hints about the Lilac Girls Prequel Lost Roses? You’ll Find Them Here.
Since I started writing Lost Roses several years ago I’ve been pinning clues on Pinterest, about the story as I went along. I pinned pictures of the characters: Luba, Sofya, little Max, Varinka and Taras. And of course young Caroline and her mother Eliza. The plot. My inspiration. (I’ve included a screenshot of a few of the pins below.) It has been a fun little secret a few readers stumbled upon but it’s time to share. The Lost Roses pub date, April 2nd will be here before you know it, but in the meantime these hints will at least be a taste of the real thing. (There’s also a Lilac Girls board under my name with lots of great pics, too.) https://www.pinterest.com/marthahallkelly/lost-roses-the-prequel-to-lilac-girls/
Hope you enjoy it!
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October 17, 2018
Just Found Some Great Old Lilac Girls Pics
One of my favorite Lilac Girls scenes to write was the one where Caroline Ferriday goes to the post office across the street from her house and discovers all the mail. So it was fun to find these old pictures of the store and post office just as they were (I call it Merrill Brothers in the book). Especially love Earl Johnson hard at work, the Christmas trees on the front porch of the store and the black cat at the door. The building is still there, across from Caroline’s house, though now a private residence. Wish I could time travel for one minute just to go back and see it as it was.
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October 2, 2018
AARP The Magazine Shines the Light on Lilac Girls
I loved the process of writing an essay about Lilac Girls for AARP The Magazine, digging into the past and reliving how the book came about. You will find the essay in the current (October-November) edition, winging its way toward mailboxes soon. And you can read it now on Nook or on your IPad. Hope you enjoy it!
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September 11, 2018
Crazy Excited to Share the Cover for Lost Roses, the Prequel to Lilac Girls.
I LOVE the Lost Roses cover and am thrilled to finally be able to share it. It has been such a joy going back in time to WWI, to tell the story from Caroline Ferriday’s mother Eliza’s point of view. I was so happy I didn’t have to leave Caroline and her mother after finishing Lilac Girls, and could dig deeper into the Ferridays’ incredible world. It was great exploring Caroline as a child, bringing her rambling summer “cottage” in Southampton, N.Y. to life and how the family discovered their beloved Connecticut home, The Hay.
It’s another true story, this time about how Eliza rallied America behind a group of Russian women, aristocrats who lost everything during the Bolshevik Revolution. I spent so much wonderful time traveling to research Lost Roses, to soak in Russia’s palaces and countryside, to walk the streets of France’s little-known Russian district and to the grand, old Hamptons cottages of Gin Lane and will share my finds over the coming months here. I added the jacket copy, below–just reading it is getting me so excited to share the story this spring!
It sounds crazy since April seems a long way off, but you can already pre-order Lost Roses through your local independent bookstore or from your favorite retailer:
Amazon | B&N | BAM
Indiebound | Hudson
Kindle | iBooks | Nook
BAM(e-book) | Google | Kobo
Meanwhile, you will find me at Gettysburg or at former plantations down south researching book number three, a Civil War story, about Caroline Ferriday’s great grandmother Eliza Jane Woolsey and her remarkable, philanthropic daughters. They were the staunch abolitionists and supreme examples of kindness and generosity that helped make Caroline Ferriday the incredible woman she was. The Woolseys. More inspiring women I’ve already grown to love.
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August 28, 2018
A Fun Shoot at The Bellamy Ferriday House for AARP Magazine
I love AARP Magazine and was so happy they wanted to shoot at the lovely Bellamy-Ferriday House and Gardens for pictures to accompany my essay in next month’s issue. The photographer Ethan Hill, assistant Janelle Jones and hair and makeup Dihan FC were all so great. Can’t wait to see the article in the October-November issue!
Noticed this on Caroline’s desk when we were shooting there. How perfect is it?
Tours of the house went on as usual…lovely Caroline Ferriday fans!
The garden put on a show.The post A Fun Shoot at The Bellamy Ferriday House for AARP Magazine appeared first on Martha Hall Kelly.
July 28, 2018
Researching Lost Roses I Discovered Caroline Ferriday’s Graduation Picture
I was thrilled to be invited to the Chapin School Book Fair last year– excited to see my Lilac Girls heroine Caroline Ferriday’s alma mater. Back then I was about three quarters of the way done with the prequel to Lilac Girls, Lost Roses and mentioned it to Eleanor Southworth, former Chapin archive coordinator, since the prequel features Caroline as a child and young woman.
“Oh, I think class of 1920 is hanging on the wall in the other room,” she said.
I was thrilled when Eleanor came back bearing a framed photo, above. Can you find Caroline? The lovely earrings and necklace she wears here may be the same ones she bequeathed to her dear Polish friends in her will.
Little did her Chapin teachers know their student would go on to do such great things.
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