Paul et Virginie in Acorn Hall

When you first walk into Acorn Hall, there is a painting of a boy and girl entitled Paul and Virginia. The painting was done by Gauthier in the nineteenth century and was original to the house. As Augustus Crane I was an avid reader and book collector, it is not surprising that such a painting hangs in his house, nor that we have two copies of the book upon which the painting was based in our library. 
Paul et Virginie was written by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in 1788. The book received a wide following in both France and around the world. Napoleon considered this book to be his favorite, and the Utopian themes tackled by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre are ones which explain Napoleon's desire to create the perfect world. The story is about two young children who are shipwrecked on a deserted island, where they grow up without the influences of either parents or society. The two children fall in love, but are then killed in another shipwreck on their way back to society. Perhaps Napoleon should have taken their deaths as a forewarning that Utopian societies cannot exist in the real world. 

Paul et Virginie was a popular book throughout he nineteenth and twentieth century. It was also the inspiration for the 1980 cult-classic, The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. To see the painting of Paul and Virginia and learn more about the book, stop by Acorn Hall starting December 1st. By that time, the house will be decorated for the holidays, and the painting will be just one of the many items of interest on the tour.