Victoria September 2018

I regard September as a perfect transition month, as it includes the last glorious days of summer and the first days of autumn. For several years, we at Victoria have designated this golden month as our tribute to Great Britain, land of royalty and history. Immerse yourself in the pages of this issue as we reveal the places and events that caught our attention. If you love stately homes, allow ample time for studying Kelmscott Manor, the glorious summer retreat that provided inspiration for many of the well-known design works of William Morris, who brought his family annually to the working farm. Read the account of how the popular Strawberry Thief pattern came into existence. (I stitched a small needlepoint version of this dear design, and it remains a favorite.) Two additional…

Take a closer look at some of our favorite September features: Haven of Creativity Prepare to be inspired as we tour the gorgeous Dartmoor-based home and studio of entrepreneur and textile designer Louise Townsend. A Certain Eden Discover the natural beauty of Kelmscott Manor, the former retreat of beloved designer and Arts and Crafts Movement leader William Morris. A Haworth Treasure Home to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë for several decades, the history-steeped Brontë Parsonage Museum honors this literary family. Gifts of the Orchard Prepare to entertain with a medley of sweet and savory recipes featuring those ubiquitous fall favorites, apples and pears, which are sure to bring delight to the table this season. Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love.…

My first job was at the age of twelve, running our family’s commercial fishing lake in Anderson, Indiana. When my father died, I, as the oldest of three daughters, had to take over the business. That entailed getting up at 4 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m., selling tickets, preparing food, selling bait and tackle, ordering truckloads of fish, obtaining bait (sometimes digging it or capturing it), mowing and weeding five acres of land, and more. I dealt with clogged springs feeding the lake, algae, a snail invasion, and a carp eating other fish. Every day was different. It was a lot of hard work, but it taught me responsibility. After the rough summer schedule, handling up to two hundred fishermen a day, I felt I could handle anything that…

The holidays are so often centered on tradition, but was there ever a time when you departed from your usual routine? If so, what was the outcome—did it provide a refreshing break or leave you with the feeling of something missing? We would love for you to share your letters with us. Send correspondence to victoriamagazine@hoffmanmedia.com or Victoria Reader-to-Reader, 1900 International Park Drive, Suite 50, Birmingham, AL 35243; you can also submit online at victoriamag.com/calling-readers/. Victoria reserves the right to edit any letters published.…

Each August, when the first school bus appears in our neighborhood, I know I am turning the last pages of summer. Soon the children will gather on street corners with their backpacks and lunch boxes, antsy with anticipation, and a few nervous parents will wait with them while the yellow bus wheezes to a stop and its wide door creaks open. The bold ones will rush on first, the shy ones hold back, and a small, eager child (there is almost always one small, eager child) will labor up the high steps for the first time, too excited to turn and say goodbye to her mother, who stands waving and waving until the bus turns the corner and disappears. If the mother is lucky, the child will make it safely and…

“I LONGED TO BE TRANSPORTED INTO THAT QUIET LITTLE LANDSCAPE, TO WALK UP THE PATH, TO TAKE A KEY FROM MY POCKET AND OPEN THE COTTAGE DOOR …”—Alan Bradley “THERE IS ROOM IN THE SMALLEST COTTAGE FOR A HAPPY LOVING PAIR.” —Friedrich Schiller…