Lamb House

It was on August 4, 2008, exactly two years ago today, that Andrew and I, Andrew’s parents, Andrew’s brother, Alex, and my sister spent a delightful day in the English market town of Rye.

I loved Rye, a very ancient and very charming town with attractions sufficient to justify the devotion of one day and two nights.

We saw everything worth seeing in Rye, including Lamb House, residence of two famous novelists.


I quote the following from Andrew’s description of Lamb House.

Lamb House is of interest primarily to lovers of literature. Henry James wrote his mature novels at Lamb House. E.F. Benson not only wrote his “Lucia” novels at Lamb House, but he had his heroine actually reside there. It was from Lamb House that the worshipful Lucia governed the inhabitants of Tilling, making them come to her various soirees and dinners, and making them listen to her butcher the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata over and over. It was at Lamb House that Lucia played the piano duets of “Celestial Mozartino” with Georgie, plotted against Miss Mapp, guarded her secret recipe, Lobster A La Risholme, and started The War Of The Chintz Roses. It was also from Lamb House that Lucia placed her successful stock trades with her London banker, Mammoncash And Company.

Someday I shall have to read the six “Lucia” novels. Andrew insists that they are among the most amusing comic novels ever written.

Andrew’s parents spent part of their honeymoon in Rye. Our 2008 visit was their first return to Rye in thirty-five years—and they insisted that in 2008 Rye looked exactly as it had looked in 1973.

According to Andrew’s parents, only the prices had changed over the intervening years.