author - "Christopher Morley"
his cook-book a narrow stairway rose on each side,running up to the gallery. Behind these stairs a short flightof steps led to the domestic recesses. The visitor foundhimself ushered into a small room on the left, where a grateof coals glowed under a dingy mantelpiece of yellowish marble.On the mantel stood a row of blackened corn-cob pipes and a canisterof tobacco. Above was a startling canvas in emphatic oils,representing a large blue wagon drawn by a stout white animal--evidently a horse. A background of lush scenery enhanced the forcefultechnique of the limner. The walls were stuffed with books.Two shabby, comfortable chairs were drawn up to the iron fender,and a mustard-coloured terrier was lying so close to the glow that asmell of singed hair was sensible.
"There," said the host; "this is my cabinet, my chapel of ease.Take off your coat and sit down."
"Really," began Gilbert, "I'm afraid this is----"
"Nonsense! Now you sit down and commend your soul to Providenceand the kitc
Description
“This shop is haunted” reads the sign on the front of the bookshop; not by the ghost of a person from the past, but by the ghosts of all great literature which haunt all libraries and bookstores.
The owner of the bookshop is so focused on his books that he cannot see the unusual things that are going on in his shop. It takes a young advertising salesman who is seeking new business and the daughter of a rich client who has been sent to earn a living for herself in the bookshop to discover the plot that’s brewing amongst the bookshelves.
The Haunted Bookshop is a gentle mystery story which is full of wonderful literary references. It is set in the aftermath of the First World War before the Paris Peace Conference took place in an age where the “Lost and Found” columns are the place to look for significant information.
Description
Parnassus on Wheels is Christopher Morley’s first novel, and the first of two written from a woman’s perspective, the second being The Haunted Bookshop, this book’s sequel. Parnassus on Wheels was inspired by a novel by David Grayson (pseudonym of Ray Stannard Baker) called The Friendly Road, and is prefaced by a letter to Grayson from Morley. The word “Parnassus” from the title refers to “Mount Parnassus,” the home of the Muses in Greek mythology.
The protagonist is 39-year-old Helen McGill, who lives on a farm owned by her brother Andrew. The book’s Parnassus is a large, horse-drawn van owned by Roger Mifflin, out of which he buys and sells books while traveling around the New England countryside. Mifflin arrives at the McGill farm, looking to sell the business to someone interested in the noble cause of spreading literature to the common man. Helen is at first turned off by Mr. Mifflin, but decides on a whim that an escape from her dreadful farm—and her insufferable brother Andrew—is just what she needs. She buys the Parnassus, and embarks on exactly the type of adventure she had hoped for.
his cook-book a narrow stairway rose on each side,running up to the gallery. Behind these stairs a short flightof steps led to the domestic recesses. The visitor foundhimself ushered into a small room on the left, where a grateof coals glowed under a dingy mantelpiece of yellowish marble.On the mantel stood a row of blackened corn-cob pipes and a canisterof tobacco. Above was a startling canvas in emphatic oils,representing a large blue wagon drawn by a stout white animal--evidently a horse. A background of lush scenery enhanced the forcefultechnique of the limner. The walls were stuffed with books.Two shabby, comfortable chairs were drawn up to the iron fender,and a mustard-coloured terrier was lying so close to the glow that asmell of singed hair was sensible.
"There," said the host; "this is my cabinet, my chapel of ease.Take off your coat and sit down."
"Really," began Gilbert, "I'm afraid this is----"
"Nonsense! Now you sit down and commend your soul to Providenceand the kitc
Description
“This shop is haunted” reads the sign on the front of the bookshop; not by the ghost of a person from the past, but by the ghosts of all great literature which haunt all libraries and bookstores.
The owner of the bookshop is so focused on his books that he cannot see the unusual things that are going on in his shop. It takes a young advertising salesman who is seeking new business and the daughter of a rich client who has been sent to earn a living for herself in the bookshop to discover the plot that’s brewing amongst the bookshelves.
The Haunted Bookshop is a gentle mystery story which is full of wonderful literary references. It is set in the aftermath of the First World War before the Paris Peace Conference took place in an age where the “Lost and Found” columns are the place to look for significant information.
Description
Parnassus on Wheels is Christopher Morley’s first novel, and the first of two written from a woman’s perspective, the second being The Haunted Bookshop, this book’s sequel. Parnassus on Wheels was inspired by a novel by David Grayson (pseudonym of Ray Stannard Baker) called The Friendly Road, and is prefaced by a letter to Grayson from Morley. The word “Parnassus” from the title refers to “Mount Parnassus,” the home of the Muses in Greek mythology.
The protagonist is 39-year-old Helen McGill, who lives on a farm owned by her brother Andrew. The book’s Parnassus is a large, horse-drawn van owned by Roger Mifflin, out of which he buys and sells books while traveling around the New England countryside. Mifflin arrives at the McGill farm, looking to sell the business to someone interested in the noble cause of spreading literature to the common man. Helen is at first turned off by Mr. Mifflin, but decides on a whim that an escape from her dreadful farm—and her insufferable brother Andrew—is just what she needs. She buys the Parnassus, and embarks on exactly the type of adventure she had hoped for.