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Re: Tolstoy's Ghost/The Vane Sisters (fwd)
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From: RAT101@aol.com
There are several basic questions regarding Tolstoy's appearance in The Vane
Sisters:
1) Did VN ever visit the Tolstoy estate? if so, when?
2) Did he see photographs of it? This would probably be yes, so even if it is
not the specific photo that Meredith has posted, it probably was one very
much like it. All kinds of personages visited Tolstoy; presumably there would
exist a number of photos taken by these visitors that would have been
published in various contexts.
3) Did VN only read about it? Again, many visitors may have written, for
publication, their experiences of an afternoon with the great man. Or, in
later years, a tourist simply visiting the house. These accounts would have
been no more unusual, then say, one of us writing about a day with Norman
Mailer, or (even better) just getting a look at J.D. Salinger's fortress in
Vermont...one of those photos may have illustrated one of these written
accounts...
I do not think there can be any question that the reference in The Vane
Sisters is to the architectural detail in Tolstoy's house. VN's joke that is
"hard to understand, and impossible to verify" should be taken as a teaser
for us. I think Meredith most be congratulated for "understanding and
verifying"!
My question: Does the Tolstoy estate still exist as a museum?
cheers,
Alan Chin
There are several basic questions regarding Tolstoy's appearance in The Vane
Sisters:
1) Did VN ever visit the Tolstoy estate? if so, when?
2) Did he see photographs of it? This would probably be yes, so even if it is
not the specific photo that Meredith has posted, it probably was one very
much like it. All kinds of personages visited Tolstoy; presumably there would
exist a number of photos taken by these visitors that would have been
published in various contexts.
3) Did VN only read about it? Again, many visitors may have written, for
publication, their experiences of an afternoon with the great man. Or, in
later years, a tourist simply visiting the house. These accounts would have
been no more unusual, then say, one of us writing about a day with Norman
Mailer, or (even better) just getting a look at J.D. Salinger's fortress in
Vermont...one of those photos may have illustrated one of these written
accounts...
I do not think there can be any question that the reference in The Vane
Sisters is to the architectural detail in Tolstoy's house. VN's joke that is
"hard to understand, and impossible to verify" should be taken as a teaser
for us. I think Meredith most be congratulated for "understanding and
verifying"!
My question: Does the Tolstoy estate still exist as a museum?
cheers,
Alan Chin