The Mystery Of The House Without Windows.

I have always been interested in stories about people who disappeared without trace. Five years ago, I wrote a piece about Connie Converse who is regarded as the first ever female singer-songwriter of the modern era. In 1974 she packed her belongings into her Volkswagen car and drove away, never to be seen again. I called that story How Sad, How Lovely after the title of her album. You can read that story below if you want.

Recently I stumbled across the story of another talented person who also disappeared in mysterious circumstances, the writer Barbara Newhall Follett. She was born in 1914 in New Hampshire USA. Her father was Wilson Follett who was a noted writer and teacher. Her mother was a writer of children’s stories. She was a precocious child who started writing poetry at the age of four and even invented her own language which she called Farksoo. She also had a huge interest in nature and the outdoors. At age eight she began work on her first novel which became The House Without Windows. The first manuscript which she presented to her mother was destroyed in a house fire. She painstakingly rewrote it and expanded it and with the help of her father the book was published in 1927 when she was only 12 years old. She was hailed as a child genius and the book received rave reviews from people such as Eleanor Farjeon who wrote the song Morning Has Broken. She was interviewed on the radio and asked to review other books. Her future seemed assured.

Barbara also had a great interest in the sea and sailing. In order to write about it she wanted to experience it for herself. Her parents allowed her to join the crew of a schooner as a ‘cabin boy’ on a voyage to Nova Scotia. She was only thirteen years of age. Her book based on that voyage The Voyage Of The Norman D was published in 1928 also to critical acclaim. Sadly, that year her life turned upside down. Her father abandoned his wife and children and went off with another woman. She found that experience quite devastating. The great depression began, and she was reduced to doing secretarial work to help support her mother and siblings. She did write other manuscripts, but they remained unpublished during her lifetime.

In 1931 she met a man called Nickerson Rogers. The following year they walked along the Appalachian Trail and then sailed to Spain and spent time walking through Europe. I think if she had been born 30 years later then she would have been described as having a hippy existence. They returned to USA and settled in Brookline Massachusetts and married in 1934. Sadly, it was not a happy marriage. Barbara became depressed and convinced that her husband was being unfaithful to her. According to her husband Barbara left the house on December 7^th, 1939. She had $30 in her pocket which was about $500 in today's money. At only 25 years old she was never seen again. Her husband did not inform the police for two weeks. Four months later he requested that a missing persons bulletin be issued. It was in the name Barbara Rogers, so nobody knew it was the famous writer who had disappeared until 1966. Her mother became suspicious when she discovered what little effort Nickerson had made to find his wife and accused him of having something to hide. Sadly, she went to her grave never knowing what fate had befallen her daughter. No body was ever found nor any evidence suggesting foul play.

I decided that I ought to see if I could find a rare book by Barbara Newhall Follett, So I googled ‘Barbara Newhall Follett Signed Copy’. I didn’t find a book signed by her, but I was amazed to find that a new illustrated edition of The House Without Windows had been published in the UK only last year 2019 and copies were  available signed by the illustrator Jackie Morris. My copy arrived last Saturday. It is a very attractive book and there is an introduction by Jackie Morris. Unfortunately for me, unlike the album by Connie Converse which I really enjoyed listening to, this book is not my thing at all. It is like a children’s fairy tale. It is about this girl called Eepersip who runs away from home to live in in the woods and eventually turns into a wood nymph. It is a children’s book meant for children. I expect I will resell it when I get back into my book dealing again. Nevertheless, I found the story of Barbara Newhall Follett quite fascinating. It is a shame that her disappearance wasn’t investigated more thoroughly at the time. In this modern age with all the advances with DNA I wonder if the mystery could still be solved when some shallow grave is found and reveals its dark secrets.