House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

An unforgettable story about a couple who follow their dream of converting a run-down country house into a working bed and breakfast, and what they learn along the way from an old home, a close-knit community, and a parade of extraordinary guests

In the spring of 2001, Carol Eron Rizzoli and her husband Hugo bought a dilapidated farmhouse in the tiny village of Royal Oak, Maryland, on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. They spent two years transforming it into a bed and breakfast, which took them twice as long and cost three times as much as they had originally estimated (on the back of a napkin). As they struggled to restore the house and open the B&B, Carol and Hugo were also slowly acquainting themselves with the rural community of Royal Oak, rich in custom and culinary traditions, and populated by neighbors with particular views on politics, hunting, wildlife, and of course, newcomers from the big city.

Written with honesty and humor, The House at Royal Oak is a journey to the heart of what it means to start over and chase a dream. Part inspirational account of reinventing yourself at mid-life, part love story about learning what matters most in a relationship, it is above all a book about home-what it means, and the unexpected places we find it.

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House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

An unforgettable story about a couple who follow their dream of converting a run-down country house into a working bed and breakfast, and what they learn along the way from an old home, a close-knit community, and a parade of extraordinary guests

In the spring of 2001, Carol Eron Rizzoli and her husband Hugo bought a dilapidated farmhouse in the tiny village of Royal Oak, Maryland, on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. They spent two years transforming it into a bed and breakfast, which took them twice as long and cost three times as much as they had originally estimated (on the back of a napkin). As they struggled to restore the house and open the B&B, Carol and Hugo were also slowly acquainting themselves with the rural community of Royal Oak, rich in custom and culinary traditions, and populated by neighbors with particular views on politics, hunting, wildlife, and of course, newcomers from the big city.

Written with honesty and humor, The House at Royal Oak is a journey to the heart of what it means to start over and chase a dream. Part inspirational account of reinventing yourself at mid-life, part love story about learning what matters most in a relationship, it is above all a book about home-what it means, and the unexpected places we find it.

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House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

by Carol Eron Rizzoli
House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time

by Carol Eron Rizzoli

Hardcover

$22.95 
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Overview

An unforgettable story about a couple who follow their dream of converting a run-down country house into a working bed and breakfast, and what they learn along the way from an old home, a close-knit community, and a parade of extraordinary guests

In the spring of 2001, Carol Eron Rizzoli and her husband Hugo bought a dilapidated farmhouse in the tiny village of Royal Oak, Maryland, on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. They spent two years transforming it into a bed and breakfast, which took them twice as long and cost three times as much as they had originally estimated (on the back of a napkin). As they struggled to restore the house and open the B&B, Carol and Hugo were also slowly acquainting themselves with the rural community of Royal Oak, rich in custom and culinary traditions, and populated by neighbors with particular views on politics, hunting, wildlife, and of course, newcomers from the big city.

Written with honesty and humor, The House at Royal Oak is a journey to the heart of what it means to start over and chase a dream. Part inspirational account of reinventing yourself at mid-life, part love story about learning what matters most in a relationship, it is above all a book about home-what it means, and the unexpected places we find it.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781579128401
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 04/24/2010
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Carol Eron Rizzoli first visited the Chesapeake Bay to interview James Michener as he was starting work on his epic novel Chesapeake.  She taught at Boston University, served as book editor for The Washington Post, and was a managing editor of publications for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  Her articles, reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Readers Digest, The International Herald-Tribune, The St Louis Post-Dispatch, The Boston Globe, and many other publications.  She and her husband run Royal Oak House (royaloakhouse.org) on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. 

What People are Saying About This

Joseph Lespier

"With exquisite sparkle and bounce, this journey speaks to the nature of the microcosm that is a bed and breakfast with the calamities as well as the joys that make it all worthwhile."

Helen Chappell

"I swallowed it all in one reading. A captivating story with great prose and images, poetic in the best sense. I didn't want this book to end."

Jay Karen

"Really enjoyable and well written. I appreciated the innkeepers lessons. What an 'ah-ha!' moment for me."

Carolyn Jourdan

"A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creation of an elegant B&B from a ruined house. Filled with quirky characters, this is a how-to book that deals with renovating lives as well as houses. Hard to put down."

Robert Day

"You'll love Carol Rizzoli's true story of her inn at Royal Oak. Eat your heart out Henry Fielding. Better yet, join the feast of madness and reason it takes to live and write the tale."

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