Books

Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father's House
By Miranda Seymour, HarperCollins, Publishers, 2008, 288 pp.

In a life where everything is constantly moving, it can be hard to find something reliable to cling to, a foundation of stone. For George FitzRoy Seymour, his stronghold was as literal as that: As family would come and go, the only true thing in which he could rely was Thrumpton Hall, a Nottinghamshire estate in which he spent much of his younger years.

The son of British diplomats, George was sent to stay with his uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady Byron, at Thrumpton Hall at the age of two. He fell in love with Thrumpton.

Lusting after the house for years, George's dreams were realized when the recently married 20-something became owner of Thrumpton Hall. However, when he and his wife welcomed their first child, author Miranda Seymour, her childhood wasn't quite the fantasy he experienced.

At a young age, George became accustomed to never having parents around to love him, to help him grow up. For Miranda, her father was around but never really there. His dedication to the house trumped his feelings for his family, and the author's ache for a father figure tumbles onto the pages of her memoir. It's apparent she's frustrated with her father but finds it difficult to write him off.

Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father's House reads like a genealogical account of George's family, diagramming out the Seymours' extended family tree. Before one can understand Miranda's father's behavior, it's necessary to explore the lives of his equally eccentric relatives.

The book is divided into two sections — the first chronicles George's obsession with the house; the second, his possession. Much of the first half is based around journals and letters kept by her ancestors. The second consists largely of Miranda's growing up on the top floor of the manor, kept away from her parents on the lower level, and all the events leading up to her father's death. Miranda alternates between writing about her father and family and Thrumpton Hall and her conversations with her mother as she tells the story of the mansion that served as the one object of her father's affections.

Life in My Father's House tells a story of a man plagued with insecurity, obsessed with perfection, and devoted to the one thing he felt gave his life some meaning of importance. The epitaph inscribed on George Seymour's headstone exhibits his dedication to Thrumpton Hall, even in death: Si monumentum requires, circumspice. If you wish to know me, look around you. Here I am.

Summer Hunt is a writer and researcher at Seek Publishing.