OLD MANSION HOUSE / HADLEY HOUSE
He reluctantly raised his eyes from the glowing circle of light that was Three Pines up to the darkness and the old Hadley house, sitting like the error that proved the point. It stood outside the circle, on the verge of the village. Beyond the pale. (A Fatal Grace, page 155, Hardcover Edition)
Not nearly as intimidating—it’s pink!—as Louise makes it out to be, the Old Mansion House serves as the inspiration for the old Hadley House in A Fatal Grace.
Situated on the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog, the Old Mansion House was built in 1889 and once held the distinction of being “Quebec’s oldest hotel in continuous operation.” The nearly 5000 square foot Victorian Manse began its life as a coaching inn serving travelers making their way between Montreal and Boston. It later operated as a fishing and ski lodge as well as a boarding house before becoming what it is today, a vacation rental home that can accommodate up to 20 guests comfortably.
Inside the Old Mansion House you’ll find eight bedrooms, each with its own bath. Four of the bedrooms have access to balconies which offer spectacular views of the more than 2 acres of woods and spacious lawns.
Positioned perfectly just north of Vermont and a little over an hour from Montreal, the Old Mansion House is the ideal getaway where, depending on the season; fishing, skiing, sailing, and hiking are just over a hill or two away.
While idyllic, the Old Mansion House may actually hide some of the menace Louise describes so well in A Fatal Grace. Rumor has it, years ago, a young girl fell from her horse and died. If you find yourself sitting on the wraparound veranda late at night, and the moon is sitting just right, you might happen to see her galloping to and fro.
For more information about the Old Mansion House, please see www.mansionhousegeorgeville.com.
How did you picture the old Hadley House when you read A Fatal Grace?
What other structures from Three Pines stand out to you?
64 replies on “THE REAL PLACES OF THREE PINES: A FATAL GRACE”
Just as I pictured it from your description!
I think what caught Louise’s attention with this house is the Widow’s Walk at the top of it. There are many big houses on Long Island where I grew up and it was said the sailor’s wives would go to that top room to watch for the fishing boats returning. Because many of them were lost at sea, those wives often did not see their husband’s return which led to the term Widow’s Walk. Seeing an old house with a Widow’s Walk gives one a sense of foreboding. I can see this influencing Louise to view this house as one where a murder could take place.
Wow, I’d never thought of the foreboding that comes from seeing a Widow’s Walk, but you’re right! It’s a romantic picture, but a forlorn one.
What an interesting comment! I had not heard of a Widow’s Walk before, but you can picture a wife up there looking longingly out to sea for the fishing boats to return. That concept does give atmosphere to the house.
Having grown up nearby, pink does not surprise me at all.
It’s my understanding that Victorian colors were not all dark, and it would only make sense to me that bright colors would be essential in climates with longer winters. So the pink doesn’t throw me, but I pictured the paint to be faded, like the farm house in “Green Acres,” where the paint would just get sucked into the wood.
Julie described it well for my imagination’s picture. Once noble, then neglected, then after the villagers got together not as scary to the eye. Then bought by the “perfectionist” wishing to be Canada’s Martha Stewart/new age maven. Finally the family who modernizes the interior to such extent. But somehow my mind always first goes back to the basement when it was so scary.
I long to stop into the bistro to have some refreshment and meet Gabri and Olivier, maybe join Myrna, Clara and Ruth around the fireplace. It would be an honor to be insulted as a badge of honor by the old poetess. Lord Love a Duck !
And selfishly I want to meet Gamache, Reine Marie, LaCoste…oh, oh. I cant stop.
i imagined a Victorian gothic ,rather menacing place.
Louise Penny has a terrific imagination to turn this pink cake into a menacing chiller!
I always pictured it as white but with paint peeling and quite dilapidated until the villagers paint it at the end of book 2. I’d love to see the cabin in the woods. And I want to eat at Olivier and Gabri’s cafe. Oh, and I’d love to see st Thomas church with the stained glass window. Wonderful.
How did you picture the old Hadley House when you read A Fatal Grace?
Sorry, but just can’t remember the details.
What other structures from Three Pines stand out to you?
The Spa and the one-room (I think) cabin in the woods where the hermit lived. And, the bench at the top of the hill where Gamache would sit to think, read his father’s book and to observe the Village and its inhabitants. I would also would love to see The Gamache’s home residence where they lived for most of the stories.
I want to see everything in the village, but especially the inn where all those delicious meals and secrets get revealed.
How special your posts are. We are all waiting until August…impatiently!
Like Diane Hines, I pictured the Psycho house but a bit more liveable. And the hotel it becomes is not like this one either. But this is quite charming.
But in the second book it’s CC’s house. Of course she’d have it painted pink!
Exactly what I thought, Pat! CC had it painted pink.
But now that it’s a competitor of the B&B, it’s white with some cheerful color on the trim – maybe blue?
I pictured it as being dark grey, surrounded by tall, tall trees. It also stood on a rise, with a crooked stone walkway winding up to the front steps. Pink is too cheerful for that old house!
I have to say I pictured it like the house in Psycho… all dark and cavernous. Very scary. I’m glad that I can replace that image with this one. Very nice.
I had imagined it as dark grey surrounded by trees. I did not “see” the large expanse of lawn. The structure is very much as I had imagined it.
I see it with traces of white paint, clinging uselessly amidst overgrown shrubbery and trees.
Pink! How funny! In my mind, it used to be white, with dark green shutters, but now it’s a dingy gray (at least until it gets “rehabilitated” in the later books), covered in grime and neglect, completely overgrown with vines and vegetation. Inside, only about half the lights work, so it’s always dark inside…
Nailed it! My imaginings, also. 🙂
Yes, Julie, that’s just how I pictured it, as well.
That’s how I thought of it, as well.
Also the way I saw it.
Julie, that’s exactly how I pictured it too, outside and inside! Definitely dirty and dingy inside and out!
I too saw it as a much darker house with some stone and outbuildings. Interesting how our minds work. Love your characters, even the poet.
I too envisioned a much darker house for this site, never thought of it as pink! I also saw it with more pine or fir forests around it. The story had such dark overtones, it really colored my mind’s eye view of this story.
I had imagined it more in dark colours as well, dark green or dark brown, with cream or white trim, and surrounded by dark pines and spruces so that it dim and in shadow even in daylight. Interior with pine and white oak, darkened over the years.
I saw a somber red brick Victorian, somewhat like that pictured on the cover of one of the books. I still have trouble visualizing this pretty little fictional town as the center of so much carnage. Sort of like the sci-fi horror films where the same characters keep coming face to face with the monster, even though it’s supposed to be ravaging the whole earth. Or, in the Chief Inspector’s case, all of Quebec.
But wait, when are we going to find out where we can go to eat Olivier and Gabri’s fabulous meals?
I know – I must gain 10 pounds with every book!