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2017, 1950s: Reclusive Sylvia Wren, one of the most important American artists of the past century
The Cherry Robbers
What you need to know before your trail
The reclusive Sylvia Wren, one of the most important American artists of the past century, has been running from her past for sixty years. Born Iris Chapel, of the Chapel munitions dynasty, second youngest of six sisters, she grew up in a palatial Victorian ‘Wedding Cake House’ in New England, neglected by her distant father and troubled, haunted mother.
The sisters longed to escape, but the only way out was marriage. Not long after the first Chapel sister walks down the aisle, she dies of mysterious causes, a tragedy that repeats with the second sister, leaving the rest to navigate the wreckage, with heart-wrenching consequences.
Travel Guide
New Mexico and Cherry Robbers
The title of the novel comes from a poem Cherry Robbers by D H Lawrence. He lived for a time in New Mexico.
Belinda Holland Chapel is very loosely inspired by the life and legend of Sarah Winchester. Mary Jo Ignoffo’s Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune was useful for the author as she learned about the real life of Sarah Winchester.
No other character in the novel is inspired by any real person, living or dead, in the firearms industry.
Georgia Totto O’Keeffe was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. She has been called the “Mother of American modernism”.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Cherry Robbers
Destination/Location: New Mexico, Abiquiu Author: Sarai Walker Departure: 2017, 1950s
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