What do you think?
Rate this book
Celia's Lighthouse
Of her first 10 books published by Houghton Mifflin from 1942 to 1952, Anne Molloy’s best known local work is Celia’s Lighthouse. In it she imagines the life of Portsmouth-born Celia Laighton who at age four moved with her family to tiny rocky White Island at the Isles of Shoals in 1839. Anne Molloy considered Celia’s Lighthouse her favorite labor of love and saw it republished locally as a popular paperback in 1979.
hardcover
First published January 1, 1949
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 21, 2022
4.5🌟 I found this vintage book on a rickety wooden shelf in the basement of an antique store in Concord, New Hampshire and it completely surprised me how much I liked it! My current edition is missing the colored dust jacket but, luckily, there is a pictorial cover embossed on the cloth bound book that is still lovely.
I had no idea when I started reading this children's chapter book that it was a historical fiction novel based on the early life of Celia Thaxter - the famous poet, talented gardener, and author of the timeless (and beautiful) book, 'An Island Garden'. I read 'An Island Garden' one or two years ago and it was wonderful.
'Celia's Lighthouse' by Anne Molloy is an utterly charming story about Celia's childhood, starting with her family leaving Portsmouth, New Hampshire (a favorite place of mine to visit which is only an hour from my house) and beginning a new life as lighthouse keepers on White Island.
I'm usually not a huge fan of seafaring stories, lighthouses or books based on islands, but this book was a joy to read. I found myself wanting to pick it up often during the day to find out what new things were happening on the Island with Celia.
After watching a mini biography movie about Celia Thaxter on Amazon Prime (Celia Thaxter's Island Garden by Peter E. Randall), it struck me that Anne Molloy did a fantastic job keeping true to the actual life of Celia and her family. I couldn't find a single thing that was out of place while reading this book.
Now that I've now read a few books about Celia, I've ordered a vintage book of her poetry, a book about her life, one of her journals (A children's book titled, 'Celia's Island Journal') and a more recent children's book that recounts the life of this extraordinarily talented lady ('Celia Planted a Garden' by Phyllis Root).
I've learned that you can visit Celia's garden on Appledore Island even now (https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.or...). My husband and I are planning to take a trip next year! Although the garden is in the same exact spot as Celia had it when she was alive (with many of the same flowers and layout), her home and the hotel her parents owned burned down. You can see the foundations, but that's all.
I also love flowers and I love that she painted, wrote poetry and just generally loved all things creative. I'm looking forward to learning more about her life before our visit next summer. I highly recommend this children's book and 'An Island Garden' by Celia Thaxter. Reading one and then the other would make for such an enchanting experience!
I had no idea when I started reading this children's chapter book that it was a historical fiction novel based on the early life of Celia Thaxter - the famous poet, talented gardener, and author of the timeless (and beautiful) book, 'An Island Garden'. I read 'An Island Garden' one or two years ago and it was wonderful.
'Celia's Lighthouse' by Anne Molloy is an utterly charming story about Celia's childhood, starting with her family leaving Portsmouth, New Hampshire (a favorite place of mine to visit which is only an hour from my house) and beginning a new life as lighthouse keepers on White Island.
I'm usually not a huge fan of seafaring stories, lighthouses or books based on islands, but this book was a joy to read. I found myself wanting to pick it up often during the day to find out what new things were happening on the Island with Celia.
After watching a mini biography movie about Celia Thaxter on Amazon Prime (Celia Thaxter's Island Garden by Peter E. Randall), it struck me that Anne Molloy did a fantastic job keeping true to the actual life of Celia and her family. I couldn't find a single thing that was out of place while reading this book.
Now that I've now read a few books about Celia, I've ordered a vintage book of her poetry, a book about her life, one of her journals (A children's book titled, 'Celia's Island Journal') and a more recent children's book that recounts the life of this extraordinarily talented lady ('Celia Planted a Garden' by Phyllis Root).
I've learned that you can visit Celia's garden on Appledore Island even now (https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.or...). My husband and I are planning to take a trip next year! Although the garden is in the same exact spot as Celia had it when she was alive (with many of the same flowers and layout), her home and the hotel her parents owned burned down. You can see the foundations, but that's all.
I also love flowers and I love that she painted, wrote poetry and just generally loved all things creative. I'm looking forward to learning more about her life before our visit next summer. I highly recommend this children's book and 'An Island Garden' by Celia Thaxter. Reading one and then the other would make for such an enchanting experience!
Displaying 1 of 1 review