Imagining Ichabod: My Journey into 18th-Century America through History, Food, and a Georgian House - Hardcover

Bennett, Paula

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0983863245 ISBN 13: 9780983863243

Publisher: Bauer and Dean, 2016

Synopsis

• Journey into America's past with this warm, personal account of living in a historic New England Georgian home and the family who owned it for over 200 years
• Rich local and national history of 18th-century America and depictions of daily life
• Includes 25 adapted historic recipes, county records, inventories, a military diary, and details on 18th-century cooking ingredients, fabric, paint, and antiques discovered from a present-day archaeological excavation

Prompted by a serendipitous visit to a bookstore, an epiphany leads Paula Bennett and her husband, Harvey, to southern Maine where they spontaneously buy the General Ichabod Goodwin House with its original nine-over-six windows, wide-plank painted wood floors, early Georgian moldings, and an 8-ft wide hearth perfect for cooking.

While learning about 18th-century décor to inform the furnishing of her historic home, Paula diligently researches the house's first inhabitants. She begins to imagine daily life in 18th-century New England, specifically for the first two Goodwins who lived on their property a father and son, both named Ichabod.

Join Paula and Harvey as their shared passion for history leads to an archaeological dig outside their front door, connecting them even more to life in early America, and their avid interest in the culinary arts leads the author to explore and recreate historic recipes, 25 of which are woven throughout the text. Their journey culminates in cherry-picking from the past, recreating aspects of the 18th-century and adapting them into their 21st-century lifestyle.

About this title

About the Author

Paula Bennett was born in 1948 and until 2004 resided in Baltimore, Maryland. She received a BA in French at the University of Maryland and her M.Ed. at Goucher College. Paula taught in public and private schools for over twenty years. During that time, she developed a socially conscious curriculum for a private middle school in Baltimore while serving on boards to support community arts programs. Both Paula and her husband, Harvey, have been avid environmentalists and locavores since the early 1970s when they began to raise chickens, garden, and make their own wine. In 1994, she joined her husband's family business, Matthew Bennett International, a philatelic auction house. Paula helped grow what had been a regional auction business into one with an international presence, conducting sales in Zurich, Switzerland, and Hong Kong, China. In 2013, Paula decided to semi-retire from the stamp auction world and immersed herself in further researching the history of her house and the town of South Berwick, Maine where since 2004 she has lived with her husband of forty-five years. Since moving to South Berwick, Paula has been actively involved in the local community. She has established connections with the various historic organizations in the region, including Historic New England. Paula is the former program chairman of the Old Berwick Historical Society (OBHS) and continues to conduct house tours for the society. She and her husband also give tours of their General Goodwin home for other organizations such as the Warner House and the York County schools.

Review

This fascinating memoir will delight all who have a love of old houses and their preservation and a desire to re-create the atmosphere and experience of living in one. Color photographs of the interior and exterior of the home, plus other photos of documents and prepared 18th-century foods, highlight the text. Bennett has included acknowledgments and sources with thoughtful personal notes along with the extensive notes, bibliography, and index. This short memoir will perhaps inspire others to "live a life somewhat removed from the 'modern' world of today." (Maine Antique Digest)

From Georgian architecture to stoneware tankards to re-creating eighteenth-century feasts, "Imagining Ichabod" is an enjoyable and delicious exploration of early American life." - Emerson W. Baker, Salem State University, author of "Storm of Witchcraft".

"I've never seen a book quite like this. It is a memoir...a decorative arts fest...it is a cookbook too." Excerpted from the article in the Portsmouth Herald by J. Dennis Robinson, author of "Mystery on the Isle of Shoals".

She weaves historic recipes throughout the text, whichincludes archaeological dig discoveries from the property, along with detailsabout its chronology and the history of the families who lived there. (SeacoastOnline, June 14 2016)

"An impassioned ode to a New England House. Those whoenjoy history, architecture, archaeology, research, antiquing, decorating, or open-hearthcooking will find pleasure in this evocative sketch of a house and its ownersthrough time" - Elisabeth Garrett Widmer, author of "At Home: TheAmerican Family, 1750-1870"

Edition details

• Publisher: Bauer and Dean
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0983863245
• ISBN 13: 9780983863243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 268