Hilltop Lodge: Frances' Birthday Celebration

by Tara Taylor and Kay Taylor

In 1926, Frances Dodge--heiress to the Dodge Motor Company fortune--received a very special gift for her twelfth birthday: a playhouse christened 'Hilltop Lodge'. This was no ordinary playhouse. You will learn about its planning and construction--and celebrate her birthday in this extraordinary playhouse. For Frances, Hilltop Lodge was a safe haven--a hideaway of sorts. When riding horses on her family's estate--she used her playhouse as a stopover. (Frances Dodge would later become an internationally renowned horsewoman.) Hilltop Lodge did help Frances to gain the house management skills that her mother desired her to learn--but mostly it was special to Frances because it was here that she would first meet Patrick. Even today you can visit Frances' playhouse. Some of her personal belongings (toys, books and dishes) are still there. Visitors to Meadow Brook Hall are invited to take the short stroll through the woods to visit her playhouse--but most seem so in awe of the mansion (which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012)--that they confine themselves to touring the Hall. It is indeed an exquisite home. But Hilltop Lodge, Frances' enchanted hideaway, was magical . . .

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1514404745
• ISBN13: 9781514404744
• Release Date: September 2015
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 118 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"