Return to Wonderland: Lia Fail
One of my favorite childhood books was the Elizabeth Enright classic, Gone-Away Lake. The novel centers on an old resort hidden deep in the woods that once had been a grand colony of elegant houses and extraordinary residents of a bygone era. I was enthralled by the story for reasons I can only now — 60 years later — fully appreciate. The truth is that this story reflected my own experience growing up in just such a magical community: Cos Cob, Connecticut’s, Lia Fail.
I missed Lia Fail’s heyday by half a generation. My brother, older by seven years, remembers neighborhood pool parties, riding in the meadow, even the children’s Lia Fail News, published by his pals. By the time I was old enough to know what I was missing, the other kids had all “gone away” to prep school or college. I felt as if I’d been left alone in an enchanted forest.
Yet the neighborhood’s unique history and secret treasures remained mesmerizing. To live there was a rare adventure worthy of its own novel.
