Nancy Polk Hall
The Location as a Character
Call of the Blackbird contains richly atmospheric and layered descriptions of Les Tours de Merle, treating it at times not just as a physical place but as a living presence-historical, emotional, and symbolic.
Passages from Call of the Blackbird
that capture the essence of the character
Les Tours de Merle.
A Feudal City Revealed
“The first impression I had was of the sheer vastness of the place. It was more like a feudal city than an old, ruined chateau... The fortress rose on its own perch in the center of the bowl, high above the river... I squinted and tried to imagine what this city fortress looked like five hundred years ago and was almost successful”.
Landscape of Majesty and Danger
“The river curled below me some two hundred feet straight down, while on my right a natural rock wall rose some fifty feet... part of the majestic quality of the buildings was that the crag in the half circle of the river had two separate domes of rock”.
Reviving the Sleeping Fortress
“The Tours de Merle will come alive again... It has been sleeping…’ ‘Like in “The Sleeping Beauty,”’ Francoise interjected. ‘The old castle covered with vines and thorns. Paul is waking it up”.
The Old Scholar's Obsession
Lorraine, France
The perfect setting for
Call of the Blackbird. Excerpts of the magic Nancy Polk Hall weaves through her stories.
Coco gives 5-Stars for Call of the Blackbird:
"I felt transported inside the story. I felt I could see the scenes clearly. It was memorable and I am looking forward to her next book."
Panoramic View from the Hilltop
“The Moselle River lazed through the valley it had created over thousands of years. Sculpted and scoured by its waters, the hill on which I was sitting showed a fantastic view of the countryside of Lorraine.”
Place Stanislas
“The opera house was a little jewel, baroque and beautiful… As the Mercedes pulled into the Place Stanislas, the beauty of it overwhelmed me for the hundredth time… Lanterns and fountains with intricate ironwork and gold-gilded grille work by Jean Lamour embellished the corners of the square.”
Post-War Historical Contrast
“...the countryside still bore the scars of two world wars... The bullet holes had been filled and smoothed over; only a memorial dotted here and there in the villages, giving clues of the fought-over land.”
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