The Octagonal Heart

by Ariadne Thompson

Hardcover with dust jacket.

221 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Octagonal Heart is Mrs. Thompson's first book but she has written numerous short stories for a number of magazines under the pen name of Paz van Matre. she is married, has two children, and makes her home in Scarborough, NY.

Reviews

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the summers that a young Greek-American girl spent with her family in an octagon house in New Orleans. They are hardly what I think of as a typical immigrant family. For one thing, this family is extremely wealthy. They have a large staff of servants at their winter house and another staff at their summer home. During their leisure time the adults dress in togas and tell the children bedtime stories involving ancient Greek gods and goddesses (after whom they are all named) cavorting with each other, swans, and bulls.

Because of the title and picture on the dust jacket, I had hoped that there would be a little more information about the house itself but the family is interesting enough to carry the book.

*** This last part is for Ellen only. ***

When the original octagon house burns down at the end of the book. The family rebuilt another house on the foundation but the new house is much smaller and less grand than the original house. The new house is only 2 stories while the original house was 3 stories plus a cupola. On the ground floor there was a large octagonal entrance hall, an open well rising four stories to the cupola. On the upper floors that central octagon had an open landing or balcony where the children could sit and watch the goings on in the rooms below. There were bronze statues of Night and Day holding torches mounted on the newel posts. The author describes a decorative bronze pointed fringe that hung from the balcony. At Christmas time decorations of colored ornaments and golden acorns were mingled with the fringe.

The author describes a Billiard Room and a Wine Room. There is a bed/sitting room with a Murphy bed for Thea, who was hired first as a "lady's companion" and then to watch the children but was treated more as a maiden aunt. There was a parlor, a pantry, and a Medicine Room. Attic rooms were crammed with trunks and toys and other treasures. Beneath the cellar, entered only through a tunnel, was the Storm Room.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from The Webster Groves Bookshop during the last days this neighborhood staple was in business. A sweet reminiscence of a Greek family and the home they lived in. The story of this colorful and loving family takes place in a house that was equally as interesting in the small town of Webster Groves just after WWl. Sadly, the home was lost to fire and a subdivision sprung up in its place. Not only is the house gone but a simpler way of life. I grieve for the loss of both.