Reviews |
This page was last updated on: August 11, 2001
"WENTWORTH-BY-THE-SEA, 1969" |
From the Amazon.com web site: If you enjoyed "The Great Gatsby", the television series "Dynasty" or "Titanic", you will probably enjoy this book. Melanson describes, in vivid detail, what it was like to work as a waitress in one of the grand turn-of-the-century resort hotels as it was nearing the end of its heyday in 1969. She describes the guests, the protocols, the lavish dinners and social events which are, for the most part, gone today. 1969 was a year of many significant events from the first man landing on the moon to Woodstock. Melanson describes these as most baby-boomers remember them. The story is peppered with the songs that were playing on the radio at the time. Melanson weaves a thread of romance throughout the book as she describes a summertime relationship that comes and goes with the season. While I like the descriptions of the hotel the most and the socialites that frequented it, the romance will probably appeal more to the fairer sex. The entire novel can be read in an evening. If you like nostalgia with a touch of romance, this book is for you. Four star rating. A Reader, Carlisle, Massachusetts January 4, 2001 |
Susan Chapman Melanson's Interview with SeacoastNH.com HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK |
Click on logo to link to the interview. |
ALSO Interviews and Reviews "MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM" Recently Published Maine Authors Portland, Maine August 5, 2001 "COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE" New London, New Hampshire Spring/Summer, 2001 "THE WELLESLEY TOWNSMAN" Wellesley, Massachusetts February 22, 2001 "Memories of long-ago summers at N.H. hotel inspire former resident's first novel" By Michelle Xiarhos |
I read "Wentworth-By-The-Sea, 1969" and it was wonderful. So many references brought back memories: the hotel, Portsmouth, the seacoast area, and the strange bittersweet of being 20-something. I think my favorite chapter is Chapter 13 "First Love". The author mentions that old song "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" -- I remember it so well and yet I haven't thought about it for many years. Those lyrics and tune are such a reflection of the feeling of the time. And did she actually wait on Labor Day "four years hence"? It's a wonderful image -- melancholy -- but that's part of life, isn't it? I had a wonderful time being transported in memory back about thirty years. David Peck, Berkeley, California January 17, 2001 |
Last evening I read Susan's recently published book Wentworth-By-The-Sea, 1969 from cover to cover. First, I was impressed with how well it was written and how consistently lucid and detailed the descriptions of the hotel and the events of the time were. There is a chapter called "The Eagle Has Landed" that describes, in detail, the main character's experience of seeing man's first landing on the moon. It is accurately and powerfully written and just makes you want to shout "YES, that's how I felt, too!" As you near the end of the book you are reaching the end of the summer experience that Susan describes. You feel, along with the characters in the book, the bittersweet feeling that accompanies the end of a very special time. This is further compounded and enforced by the epilogue that describes the fate of the old hotel thirty years later. You also learn what becomes of the fact-based characters in the novel. You just wish it could have gone on. Doug Chapman December 26, 2000 |
Marvelous job!! I don't think I can describe how I felt as I read the book. My only complaint would be that it wasn't long enough - I did not want it to end! Erin McGowan New York January 14, 2001 |
This was fun! An easy read that keep my attention. The real Wentworth By The Sea has the tendancy to fascinate and I was glad to see that someone has finally put some of that down on paper. I look forward to the proposed reopening of the hotel in 2002 and would suggest that the new owners consult with this author as they lay out their food service plans. Howard B. Stowell Blair, Iowa February 14, 2001 |
"The social season began on the Fourth of July. The lobby of the resort was festooned with bunting, embellished with arrange- ments of red carnations and white gladioli bundles with big blue bows and miniature American flags. Every table in the main dining room had similar arrangements and flags." This excerpt, from Susan Chapman-Melanson's new book, "Wentworth By The Sea, 1969 - A Novel", offers a snapsot of a time when the social season was everything, lasting the entire summer for many of the guests. As a college student waitressing summers at the historic hotel, Chapman-Melanson watched the idle rich play, while enjoying the behind-the-scenes social life of the staff, many being boarders for the entire seasson. "My parents gave me a unique tool for finding summer employment during my college years. They handed me an AAA Tour Guide book and suggested I apply to resorts having the most number of stars," says Chapman-Melanson. "The stars had a direct relation- ship upon my income, which, because I had chosen to waitress, depended upon tips. That is how I landed at Wentworth By The Sea." The 23-year old Chapman arrived in 1969, a turning point for the hotel that now sits desolate, haunting the coast of New Castle, near the mouth of the Piscataqua River. It seems to be waiting for the knight on his white horse to come and rescue it, to keep it from sinking into oblivion. Most of the windows are broken, the paint is peeling, and the still imposing structure stands behind an ugly chain-link fnece. Yet the building miantains an impressive presence. You can't help but know it once represented something wonderful. "Guests in 1969 still received white-glove service that was unsurpassed." says Chapman-Melanson. "The staff of the main dining room comprised a small army of waiters and waitresses, bartenders, sommeliers, bus boys, hostesses and the Maitre D ... backed up by chefs, bakers, dishwashers and food service personnel. We were trained to treat guests as if he or she were the most important person in our life in the split second we were interacting with them." "By the end of 1969 that attention to detail and guest appreciation had begun to dwindle. It continued to wane the next season, and the next, but it didn't matter because the guests no longer expected it." For six years, Chapman-Melanson returned to work summers at the hotel. She says its personality changed throughout the years she worked there and after. The last year of the '60s was pivotal. "In 1969, we packed away the finger bowls, and I don't believe they ever came out again." But '69 was a magical year, one that had such an impact on Chapman-Melanson she had to write her story, even though it took about 30 years. It was a prosperous time, when money flowed freely, and the Wentworth was home to the rich and famous. One family arrived each year from Pennsylvania, in their own railroad car, which was stored in Portsmouth for the summer. Prince Charles held a ball there when he was appointed Duke of Wales, and the hotel was the location of the Russo-Japanese treaty signed in 1905. In 1969, the Vietnam War was being waged, and many of Chapman-Melanson's friends were looking over their shoulders as the possibility of being drafted loomed. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Ted Kennedy had an accident on Chappaquidick Island that would haunt his career for years. "I first started trying to write the book in 1985," says Chapman-Melanson, who currently lives in South Hiram, Maine. "I was trying to be too close to fact, and regretting that I hadn't kept a journal that year. Finally, I realized it had to be fiction, but based on my time there. Many of the characters are real, but a lot of them are sort of a compiliation of the people I knew then." In fact, Chapman-Melanson's love interest depicted in the book is a real person, only the name has been changed to protect... well, you get it. "Geoffrey is part him, part my husband, part Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise," she says. "I still have some contact with him, but not in that way." Motherhood and playgroups sent the fledgling manuscript back into a trunk, where it remained for many years. She kept collecting scraps of characters and memory, placing them inside with her idea. She has become an avid eBay collector, even acquiring the room key for the dorm she spent the summer in. "Finally, it became my 2000 millenium resolution. Everyone kept telling me I should write a book, because they loved my stories about the hotel. So here it is." Wentworth Hotel fans will recognize many of the historical facts and the details of the people and places in and around the famous hotel. The lines between fact and fiction are blurred in a way that makes the story easier to visualize and enjoy. |
Novel Creates Glamour Of Bygone Era |
PORTSMOUTH HERALD SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2001 |
By Karen Dandurant - kdandurant@seacoastonline.com |
Colonial Cottage, the sometime offices for the hotel, is transformed into rooms for the summer wait staff. It is no longer on the site. Other staff were housed all over Portsmouth and Rye. On arrival, the staff checked in with Mary Hart, director of personnel, and their guide to the proper society of the Wenworth guests. Time off was spent in Portsmouth, in Market Square, at local night clubs ands at Gilley's, a "trolley-like vehicle that looked like it rolled off the cover of Wind in the Willows", writes Chapman-Melanson. In 1969, it did actually roll into town to sell hot dogs. Those in the know are aware that it is still here in Portsmouth, but it is a stationary restaurant now. It still sells hot dogs. Wentworth guests didn't eat hot dogs at Gilley's. They were served under the watchful eye of Chef Robert Horne, hand-picked for the five-star restaurant. Dinners could be huge, many-course events or clam bakes on the beach. Despite the glamour, Chapman-Melanson notes the constantly "disappearing" silverware, taken by the rich as souvenires. Ghost stories on the beach include the infamous Smuttynose Murders. Fisher's Pier and Prescott Park were local hangout spots as well as Rye Beach. To tell more would be to give away the story. Area residents will find the book easy to read and filled with the nostalgia of a bygone era, a representation of real life in the historic landmark destined to forevevr be a pasrt of Seacoast history. |
AUTHOR SUSAN CHAPMAN-MELANSON DISCUSSES HER NEW BOOK "WENTWORTH BY THE SEA, 1969," AT A RECENT BOOK SIGNING AT STROUDWATER BOOKS IN DOVER. CHAPMAN-MELANSON WAS A WAITRESS AT THE NEW CASTLE HOTEL IN 1969. |
"WENTWORTH BY THE SEA, 1969 - a NOVEL" IS AVAILABLE AT STROUDWATER BOOKS IN DOVER, AND AT BARNES & NOBLE, BORNERS AND AMAZON.COM. COPIES CAN ALSO BE ORDERED DIRECTLY FROM THE PUBLISHER AT WWW.XLIBRIS.COM |
AUTHOR SUSAN CHAPMAN-MELANSON SIGNS A COPY OF HER BOOK "WENTWORTH BY THE SEA, 1969", AT STROUDWATER BOOKS IN DOVER. |
Photos by Tim Cook - tcook@seacoastonline.com |