Monadnock Summer: The Architectural Legacy of Dublin, New Hampshire

by William Morgan

The small, high, mountain town of Dublin, New Hampshire was known as an artistic and literary retreat in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Its climate, unpretentious life style, and magnificent scenery attracted artists as diverse as Joseph Lindon Smith, George de Forest Brush, Abbott Thayer and his young proteges Frank Benson and Rockwell Kent. Mark Twain, who summered there twice, called it "the one place I have always longed for, but never knew existed in fact until now."

Less well known, but equally fascinating, is Dublin's claim as home to just about every architectural style and several major domestic architects of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. On its slopes, overlooking deep, spring-fed Dublin Lake and the looming Mount Monadnock, we find a virtual encyclopedia of building styles, ranging from the plain and unadorned to the most ornate and ambitious. A list of the architects who plied their trade in this small town reads like a list from Who's Who: Charles A. Platt, Peabody & Stearns, Rotch & Tilden, Henry Vaughan, and Lois Lilley Howe.

In this immensely readable and enjoyable survey, veteran architectural historian William Morgan takes the reader on a verbally vivid and visually varied tour of the terrain, concentrating not only on the traditional and expected examples that crop up in Dublin as often as elsewhere, but also on the eccentric, unusual, and often unique extravaganzas that pepper its slopes. For Dublin was a great melting pot, a place which for a century had both the money and the taste to indulge architects of all stripes and styles, and to give them commissions to design among the most beautiful and original examples their talents could produce.

Profusely illustrated, comprehensive in its treatment, and written with verve, style, and a scholar's eye, Monadnock Summer will be recognized as among the best books on New England architecture to have been published in the last 25 years.

159 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2011

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simply wonderful book, covering not only the architectural heritage of Dublin, New Hampshire, but the history and contributions of the inhabitants and visitors (in many cases very well-known) who have loved it over the last two hundred years. For me, born and raised at the foot of Monadnock Mountain in neighboring Jaffrey, turning the pages is as good as a leisurely trip home with an especially well-informed companion – indeed, I had to look twice at the Cape Cod cottage on page 16 to be sure it was not my father’s family homestead, still situated today on its own sloping lawn in Marlborough.

If I were still teaching there, I would surely plan a unit around Monadnock Summer, and urge the faculties of the elementary, middle, and high schools to lead kids on field trips to Dublin - can’t imagine a class taught in any of the areas schools today that wouldn’t be enriched by them.

Special thanks to Barbara A for her review – I doubt I would have come across the book otherwise.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this beautifully designed and richly illustrated book,with the greatest pleasure, in order to review it for a book prize.
Written by an esteemed architectural scholar, it has true significance in its field and held me captive when I should have been doing other things. An added benefit is its thorough and fascinating study of the social history of a particular summer colony.
Five stars for sure..... but, of course, one expects five stars from David Godine.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed this book as I have met the author and find his coverage of the summer residences in Dublin both informative and entertaining. Learning about architectural styles adds to my appreciation of the houses and the architects. I find Will Morgan to be a very amusing author and a good historian of American nineteenth century architecture.