During his career as an actor, William Gillette portrayed world-renowned character Sherlock Holmes in more than 1,300 performances. His career as a playwright and actor afforded him the opportunity to purchase a 184-acre estate, where he also built a twenty-four-room medieval-style castle. Overlooking the Connecticut River, Gillette's castle was complete with spy mirrors, sliding furniture, hidden rooms and a three-mile quarter-scale railroad. Since becoming a state park in 1943, it has evolved into one of Connecticut's most popular tourist attractions. Writer and award-winning journalist Erik Ofgang examines the history of an iconic structure and Gillette's life and role in the evolution of Sherlock Holmes.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) was an English writer best known for his detective stories about Sherlock Holmes. “Sherlock Holmes: A Drama in Four Acts” is a four-act play by William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, based on several stories about the world-famous detective.

An inspiring true story, perfect for fans of Hidden Figures, about an American woman who pioneered codebreaking in WWI and WWII but was only recently recognized for her extraordinary contributions. A YALSA EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FINALIST • A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Elizebeth Smith Friedman had a rare talent for spotting patterns and solving puzzles. These skills led her to become one of the top cryptanalysts in America during both World War I and World War II. She originally came to code breaking through her love for Shakespeare when she was hired by an eccentric millionaire to prove that Shakespeare's plays had secret messages in them. Within a year, she had learned so much about code breaking that she was a star in the making. She went on to play a major role decoding messages during WWI and WWII and also for the Coast Guard's war against smugglers. Elizebeth and her husband, William, became the top code-breaking team in the US, and she did it all at a time when most women weren't welcome in the workforce. Amy Butler Greenfield is an award-winning historian and novelist who aims to shed light on this female pioneer of the STEM community.

William Gillette is best-remembered today as the living personification of Sherlock Holmes, but he was much more than that. He was one of the nineteenth century's greatest stars, among its most successful actors and playwrights. In a career spanning six decades, he was one of the best-known celebrities in the Western world, a towering figure in an age of towering figures. Among his friends were Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Theodore Roosevelt, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Nast and Maurice Barrymore. He built a castle on the Connecticut River and a miniature railroad to run around it. Among the guests who rode on that train were President Calvin Coolidge, physicist Albert Einstein and Tokyo Mayor Ozaki Yukio, who gave to America the cherry blossoms in 1912. James M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, wrote two hit plays for which he specifically asked Gillette to star in. As a playwright, Gillette was known for the stark realism of his sets, costuming, dialogue and actions. He developed realistic and dramatic lighting and sound effects. As an actor, he developed the philosophy of The Illusion of the First Time, in which an actor speaks his lines and moves about each night, not as he has done a hundred times before, but as if he is making up his dialogue as he goes along, and moving about as if doing so for the first time, as real people do. Gillette's intention was to reproduce as much as possible the real world on stage, to make his audiences believe they were seeing a life episode being lived across the barrier of the footlights. This magnificent biography is the first full treatment of Gillette ever published. Exhaustively researched, thoroughly documented, and beautifully written, it not only details the life of this extraordinary man, it provides a colorful context of the times in which he lived. This is a major part of the history of the Western theater finally documented for our edification and enjoyment.

Did you know that there’s a Connecticut hotel room with a real helicopter inside? Can you guess who inspired the character of Indiana Jones, who was president before George Washington, and who flew before the Wright Brothers? Find the state’s most interesting and offbeat stories in Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. Are you interested in taking a safari or racing a chariot? Had you ever heard that Martin Luther King Jr. spent two summers in Connecticut? Included are more than eighty engaging stories that provide insight into one of America’s oldest states. Inside are tales of pirates, an underground prison, and a possessed doll. Aren’t you curious about the spectacular stained glass church that was unknowingly built in the shape of a fish by a famous architect? From the world’s smallest Native American reservation to professionally coiffed cows and a replica of Marie Antoinette’s palace, you’ll find intrigue around every corner of this small but surprising state. Author Anastasia Mills Healy brings to life the long history of intriguing people, places, and events that will fascinate even life long residents of Connecticut.

Drama Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, from Bram Stoker's novel Characters: 6 male, 2 female 3 Interior Scenes An enormously successful revival of this classic opened on Broadway in 1977 fifty years after the original production. This is one of the great mystery thrillers and is generally considered among the best of its kind. Lucy Seward, whose father is the doctor in charge of an English sanitorium, has been attacked by some mysterious illness. Dr. Van Helsing,

Whether you're a curious tourist or a local history buff, this guide contains all the tools you'll need to explore New England's history on your hikes. Each of the 40 featured hikes comes with helpful maps and directions, as well as a carefully researched impression of the trail, and a comprehensive guide to the area's natural and human history.