A historic London home once occupied by the Polish-British writer Joseph Conrad—whose novella “Heart of Darkness” inspired the 1979 epic film “Apocalypse Now”—is on the market for £1.7 million (US$2.3 million). Located in the city’s upscale Pimlico neighborhood, and a short walk from Victoria Station, the property spans 1,206 square feet over four stories, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Michael Keating, Director of Dexters Bloomsbury says of the property: This bright first floor flat offers buyers the opportunity to purchase a piece of history in one of London’s most historic neighbourhoods. Close to Russell Square tube station and King’s Cross, Marchmont Street has a wide array of pubs, cafes and second-hand bookstores. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
This Hampstead Victorian villa is a former residence of India’s most celebrated poet and writer, Rabindranath Tagore. Price: $3.54 million. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
The 4,256-square-foot house has four bedrooms, five full bathrooms and one partial bathroom. Amenities include five original fireplaces, a rear garden, a front yard, a roof deck and multiple terraces. Price: $10.5 million. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a good 60,000 books must be in want of a very big house. At some point in the mid-1980s, Otto Penzler, the indefatigable founder and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop, the Manhattan store specializing in fictitious tales of crime and espionage and whodunits of a high order, could no longer ignore the evidence: His personal collection of first editions had outgrown his office, and cartons containing the overflow were stashed in a pal’s garage. They needed a room of their own. Read more
(We earn a small commission if you click above and buy the book at Bookshop.org)
Good news for the rich and thin! New York City’s narrowest home is 9 1/2 feet wide, and—of course—is on the market for just under five million dollars. On its own, this news wouldn’t be worthy of inclusion in our fine literary blog, but in addition to its unusual dimensions and eye-popping dimensions, the Greenwich Village townhouse has a storied literary history. Edna St. Vincent Millay lived in the house in the early 1920s, and William Steig and his wife lived there with his sister-in-law, Margaret Mead. Another children’s book author, Ann McGovern, not only lived in the house, but also wrote a picture book inspired by it—Mr. Skinner’s Skinny House—in which the titular character, along with his long dog and thin snake, search for a suitable roommate. Read more
Twain, whose given name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, built “Stormfield” in 1908 in the style of a Tuscan villa and named it after his short story “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven,” according to the listing with Laura Freed Ancona of William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty, who brought the home in Redding to the market on Saturday. Read more
Somerset’s Combe Florey House, once the family home of Brideshead Revisited author Evelyn Waugh and his son Auberon, is finally for sale—and it’s pretty spectacular, looking onto parkland and water. The grounds include a twelve-bedroom home with red sandstone facades; a pool and pool house; a tennis court; several outbuildings; and a party barn, which I’ve just learned is a glamorous barn you throw parties in. … The house is currently on sale for $7.6 million, so consider making the purchase if you’re a Waugh fan with money to spare—or if you have some ideas for barn parties. Read more
Need a secluded getaway with writerly flair? Have $11.5 million on hand? You’re in luck: Amagansett Windmill House, famously occupied by Arthur Miller, is finally up for sale after years of temporary renting.
Windmill House, built as a functioning windmill in the 1950s, was renovated and converted into a living space a century later by Samuel Rubin, founder of Fabergé cosmetics; now, it’s a two-bedroom, one-bath house, with an adjoining studio and two-car garage. It’s located on 5.5 acres of land, suitable for property expansion—or just a nature-shrouded experience. Read more
