1871-1916: The sad and lonely story of the ‘Hermit Author of Skaneateles’
Posted May 15, 2021
An inset drawing of Brainard Munn from his book La Petite Belle. Courtesy of the Skaneateles Historical Society archives
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In 1871, a new book, “Love on the Wing,” written by Charles March, created a sensation in the town of Skaneateles.
Nearly every resident wanted a copy of it, not because it was very good, or even told an interesting story, but because the townspeople could easily identify themselves and their neighbors as the book’s characters.
“The book was well read in Skaneateles,” the Syracuse Herald would later write in 1899, “for out of the long list of characters in it every one of the village recognized a great many personal friends.”