Enough with all the literary deaths and shootings. The green and idyllic small town above, captured in an aerial shot via Google Maps, once nurtured a writer currently acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. This writer is both wildly popular with bookbuying audiences and highly respected by the most severe literary critics. Unfortunately, the writer did not live long enough to enjoy this universal acclaim.
It feels significant to look from above at this little country village, not only because it was this writer’s hometown, but also because it must have provided much of the the setting for the writer’s great novels. It all happened right here — on these streets and roads, in these homes and manors and churches and estates.
Who is this writer, and what is the name of this small town? As always, please post your answer as a comment, and I will not publish any of the comments until tomorrow evening, when I reveal the answer.
UPDATE: thanks to a helpful (though still unpublished) comment from Liz, I now realize that the original image on this page showed a different village with the same name as the village I am describing. Both villages are remarkably close to each other and look rather similar from the air. The image above has been replaced and is now correct.
UPDATE #2: The answer to the question has been posted here.
13 Responses
I’m guessing John Keats who
I’m guessing John Keats who died young, age 25, and Enfield, Middlesex (UK) as the town above.
Let’s guess Steventon,
Let’s guess Steventon, Hampshire, England.
although your use of the word
although your use of the word ‘manor’ should deter me, i’m going to humbly guess the henry james house in east hampton, ny………
Jane Austen’s Chawton in
Jane Austen’s Chawton in Hampshire, England?
Okay, the first four guesses
Okay, the first four guesses have come in: two are correct and two are not. Good, I was hoping I’d make this not too hard and not too easy. Keep ’em coming!
Is it Jane Austen?
Is it Jane Austen?
I thought it was Jane Austen
I thought it was Jane Austen and Steventon, but this Steventon is in Oxfordshire (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=steventon,+uk&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.772081,67.851563&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Steventon,+Oxfordshire,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.624784,-1.320248&spn=0.022752,0.066261&t=h&z=14), while Austen’s Steventon was in Hampshire:
(http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=steventon,+winchester+uk&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.772081,67.851563&ie=UTF8&hq=steventon,&hnear=Winchester,+UK&ll=51.231451,-1.211243&spn=0.022949,0.066261&t=h&z=14)
This entertained me for an unhealthy number of hours — Thanks!
Liz
The writer’s name is Jane
The writer’s name is Jane Austen and her hometown is Steventon.
I’m going to say Kerouac and
I’m going to say Kerouac and Lowell…maybe?
Jane Austen – Chawton
Jane Austen – Chawton
Auteuil, France
Auteuil, France
Yup. The new picture makes
Yup. The new picture makes more sense
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.228585,-1.219437&spn=0.1,0.1&t=p&q=51.228585,-1.219437
Thanks all for the good
Thanks all for the good answers. And thanks Liz for the correction — the above image is now correct.