This renowned doll house, conceived as a fairy castle, is one of the most beloved permanent displays at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. A gift to the museum from Colleen Moore, star of the silent-film era and the original “flapper,” the Fairy Castle has appealed to the imaginations of thousands of children since 1949.
The minute and precious detail of this cherished residence of Moore’s imaginary fairy prince and princess has been captured in color photography, giving the reader a close-up tour of the nine-foot-square and twelve-foot-high castle’s rooms and their treasures. We enter the miniature palace of make-believe through the Magic Garden, with its working fountain and weeping willow tree that cries “real tears”; travel through the Library of diminutive books, with contributions from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, and others; move on to the Great Hall, with its tiny paintings, dainty chandeliers made of diamonds and emeralds, Cinderella’s glass slippers, and more; and explore the castle’s wonders from top to bottom.
Such a lovely, lovely find to put on hold and receive from the inter library loan program. Just love.
I have always adored dollhouses, fairies, castles and I love Chicago. This book and our Sunday Buddy Read – From Dust to Stardust- book was just a hug and a remembrance of every time I have stood for hours at this dollhouse and just took it in. Reading this fictionalized biography of the life of Colleen Moore and how the dollhouse came to life was the pure zen I needed to read this month. Looking up old Hollywood, Silent Film and Colleen again in depth was the balm my heart needed in these dark times. Which coincidently is what the dollhouse tour, before it landed at its home in the museum, did. Quite amazing. There are now several books I will be tracking down on both these subjects to be immersed even more in this story. Just exquisite.
Chicago, 1916. Doreen O’Dare is fourteen years old when she hops a Hollywood-bound train with her beloved Irish grandmother. Within a decade, her trademark bob and insouciant charm make her the preeminent movie flapper of the Jazz Age. But her success story masks one of relentless ambition, tragedy, and the secrets of a dangerous marriage. Her professional life in flux, Doreen trades one dream for another. She pours her wealth and creative energy into a singular achievement: the construction of a one-ton miniature Fairy Castle, the likes of which the world has never seen. So begins Doreen’s public tour to lift the nation’s spirits during the Great Depression―and a personal journey worth remembering. A sweeping journey from the dawn of the motion picture era through turbulent twentieth-century America, From Dust to Stardust is a breathtaking novel about one determined woman navigating change, challenging the price of fame, and sharing the gift of real magic.
I am sorry to be leaving this world and will look forward to acquiring more books about this.
I have to say it has been a long while since I was sad for a book to be over.
