Arthur Conan Doyle’s home in Hindhead, England, Undershaw (seen above), is under attack by a developer who has owned the property since 2004 and wishes to build on the 3-acre site. Previous attempts to subdivide the 36-room residence itself have met with resistance from fans and the local government. Undershaw was built in 1896 as a place where Conan Doyle’s wife, Louise (suffering from consumption), could end her days, which she did, 13 years after her diagnosis. Bram Stoker was among the literary luminaries who stayed at Undershaw. Read the news report here.
In a related story, though one step removed from crime fiction, Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West, Florida, which has withstood God knows how many hurricanes, is under siege from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The problem seems to be cats.
Hemingway’s home is sanctuary to more than 50 six-toed cats, many of which are reportedly descended from Hemingway’s original polydactyl, given to him by a sea captain.
The USDA claims that Papa’s home, a major tourist attraction in Key West, is in effect an “exhibitor” of cats--which means it needs to have a USDA Animal Welfare License. But that drunk-with-power bureaucracy has repeatedly refused to grant such a license, and now threatens “to charge the home $200 per cat per day for violating the act.” The whole story can be found here.
The Hemingway matter is now in the hands of a federal judge.
No comments:
Post a Comment