The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum’s state bicentennial programming is getting underway with The House of a Thousand Candles!
The Museum’s 2016 exhibit will discuss the Golden Age of Indiana Literature, which began with the publication of Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur and went on to include prominent novelists such as Crawfordsville native Meredith Nicholson, Gene Stratton-Porter, and others. Museum staff are hosting a book discussion club to tie into the exhibit’s theme.
The next Hoosier Author Book Club meeting will be held Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. Readers will discuss Meredith Nicholson’s mystery-adventure novel The House of a Thousand Candles.
Meredith Nicholson described his most popular novel as a “fairy tale with pistols.” It is the story of a young man, John Glenarm, who returns home to Indiana upon hearing of the death of his grandfather. He inherits his grandfather’s mansion, but it comes with a stipulation: he must live in the house for one year “in an orderly and temperate manner.” The novel follows Glenarm’s many adventures as he hears mysterious noises, is shot at, discovers underground passages, and deals with unknown visitors.
The House of a Thousand Candles was published in 1905 and sold more than 250,000 copies in the United States. It was translated into at least eight languages and adapted for the stage and silent movies. The novel made Meredith Nicholson–a lifelong friend of Lew Wallace’s–into an internationally famous author.
Book club participation is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To RSVP or for more information call Larry Paarlberg at 765-362-5769 or email study@ben-hur.com.
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