Lenox

A week ago today I was en route to the Adirondack house and chose to take a short detour to the Berkshires to visit Edith Wharton's restored home, The Mount, in Lenox, Mass. I had the place nearly to myself (always my preference when touring). The gardens, though past their summer prime, were still lovely.

Photography was prohibited indoors - a nuisance, as I would have particularly liked to show you what was going on on the third floor. I had expected to see bedrooms done in period style. Instead, it had been given over to life-size vignettes from Wharton's novel, Fruit of the Tree. Wharton did first-hand research for this novel in the textile mills of nearby North Adams - unheard of at the time for a lady of her background and social standing. Locals had contributed period clothing, jewelry, furniture and accessories, not to mention talent - and the result was surprisingly effective. Next year there will be something entirely different in its place - a good plan, I think, to get people to keep coming back.

I hadn't been to Lenox before, so I poked around the town for a bit afterwards. Here's the reading room of the local public library.

And the periodicals on display at the local bookstore. Agni is there; all is well.