Page:Marie Corelli - the writer and the woman (IA mariecorelliwrit00coat).pdf/354

 she went over every scene her early teaching had made her familiar with, and was so charmed with Warwickshire, and Stratford in particular, that she was anxious to leave London then at once, and take up her residence in Shakespeare's town. This was in 1890, when only four of her books had been published.

Her wishes in this respect, however, she subordinated to those of her stepbrother, who preferred London; but from that time she always cherished the memory of Stratford-on-Avon, and hoped she would be able to return thither. Finally, in 1898, when Eric Mackay's death deprived her of her last remaining link with her childhood, save her ever-faithful friend Miss Vyver, and when she was extremely ill from the effects of long sickness, followed by the nervous shock of Eric's sudden end, she turned her thoughts to the old town again, and decided to take a furnished house there, to see if the place agreed with her health. She rented "Hall's Croft" for a few months, then "Avon Croft" (where the "Master-Christian" and "Boy" were finished), and, finding that the soft, mild air did wonders for her, and gradually reestablished her strength, she decided to remain.

The only house available in the town for a permanency was "Mason Croft," a very old place