Post by Sue on Oct 30, 2023 10:29:44 GMT -5
In my opinion, the best novel that includes the Lindbergh kidnapping is The Moon Stops Here by James Gordon Bennett.
The author must have visited the Hopewell house because he describes such interesting detail about the grounds and rooms in the house!
Published in 1994, it is the story of 14-year-old Teddy who takes a cross-country car trip with his mother, sister, and cousin. They go from Massachusetts to San Francisco where they will meet up with Teddy's father who is in the military.
The year is 1969, and the moon landing is the hot news of the moment!
Teddy has epilepsy. Although each character is struggling with their own particular problems, the journey is supposed to be an educational one. Among the places that they visit are Amish country, Elvis's "Graceland" home, the Alamo, and Lindbergh's estate in New Jersey.
Teddy is obsessed with the Lindbergh kidnapping, and some time before the road trip presents a report about it in his classroom.
I just discovered this book a few weeks ago, and when I learned his name - James Gordon Bennett - I wondered if he was related to the James Gordon Bennetts of newspaper fame? (When I got the book in the mail, the book jacket confirmed that he is indeed a distant relative of the founder of the New York Herald!)
Bennett grew up an Army brat, so I wonder if he HAD visited the Hopewell house in his youth?
Here are just a few Lindbergh-related excerpts from the book :
"Strolling back up to the house, I notice that one of the storm doors to the basement has been left open... the windowless stone walls are covered with soot and I can barely make out the large furnace...a detective once led Mrs. Lindbergh down here...famous parents only faked the abduction..."
"At the nursery, we all stand behind the velvet rope and peek in..."
"In the bathroom, I ease into the claw-foot tub..."
"Downstairs in the den, I sit where the colonel sat reading..."
"As we descend through the Sourland Mountains, I think about the Hospital for Epileptics over in Skillman. It was the first place the cops thought of looking...At the bed and breakfast last night, I dreamed I was at the clinic and the prime suspect..."
The author must have visited the Hopewell house because he describes such interesting detail about the grounds and rooms in the house!
Published in 1994, it is the story of 14-year-old Teddy who takes a cross-country car trip with his mother, sister, and cousin. They go from Massachusetts to San Francisco where they will meet up with Teddy's father who is in the military.
The year is 1969, and the moon landing is the hot news of the moment!
Teddy has epilepsy. Although each character is struggling with their own particular problems, the journey is supposed to be an educational one. Among the places that they visit are Amish country, Elvis's "Graceland" home, the Alamo, and Lindbergh's estate in New Jersey.
Teddy is obsessed with the Lindbergh kidnapping, and some time before the road trip presents a report about it in his classroom.
I just discovered this book a few weeks ago, and when I learned his name - James Gordon Bennett - I wondered if he was related to the James Gordon Bennetts of newspaper fame? (When I got the book in the mail, the book jacket confirmed that he is indeed a distant relative of the founder of the New York Herald!)
Bennett grew up an Army brat, so I wonder if he HAD visited the Hopewell house in his youth?
Here are just a few Lindbergh-related excerpts from the book :
"Strolling back up to the house, I notice that one of the storm doors to the basement has been left open... the windowless stone walls are covered with soot and I can barely make out the large furnace...a detective once led Mrs. Lindbergh down here...famous parents only faked the abduction..."
"At the nursery, we all stand behind the velvet rope and peek in..."
"In the bathroom, I ease into the claw-foot tub..."
"Downstairs in the den, I sit where the colonel sat reading..."
"As we descend through the Sourland Mountains, I think about the Hospital for Epileptics over in Skillman. It was the first place the cops thought of looking...At the bed and breakfast last night, I dreamed I was at the clinic and the prime suspect..."