“D’rymple mild” – Literary Edinburgh

I’ve always identified with my distant Scottish roots. It’s all in the name – Dalrymple. It’s a very Scottish surname and an actual town in Ayrshire, situated in the Scottish lowlands. My cousin Dan (whom inspired this post with a surprise phone call this evening) has spent an immense amount of time composing a thoroughly [...]

Read Full Post »

Stevenson and Steinbeck in Monterey

As I was researching my masters thesis, which focused on both Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck, I was always (a little too) excited when I found connections between the writers. I was aware of Stevenson’s Napa connections, having spent time in the valley. However, it wasn’t until reading Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, that I realized [...]

Read Full Post »

Stevenson’s Napa – Part 2

On a clear January day, a friend and I ventured up Mount St. Helena at the northern tip of the Napa Valley in search of the legacy left by Robert Louis Stevenson 129 years prior. The drive was long and winding- daunting by today’s standards. I couldn’t fathom what would have possessed him to bring [...]

Read Full Post »

Stevenson’s Napa – Part 1

I’ve lived in the Napa Valley for more than a year now and sometimes I still can’t believe I managed to make it happen. I’ve always loved Napa and made frequent visits while growing up in the Bay Area, hoping that someday I’d end up finding a way to live in this amazingly beautiful place. [...]

Read Full Post »

Chapter One

I’ve stood on Jane Austen’s front porch, at the foot of John Keats’ bed and over Percy and Mary Shelley’s gravestone. Deep in the moors of Northern England, I hiked six miles in the rain to Emily Bronte’s assumed motivation behind Wuthering Heights. A few years ago, I traveled to Scotland on a solo pilgrimage [...]

Read Full Post »