Spotlight on Lee Falk - The Summer House
History
In 1944 mrs. Edmund "Ed" Duffy became the new owner of Wells cottage near Ballstone Beach at South Pamet Road in Truro. Next year they moved the cottage about 100 yards further westerly and made plans for extensive alterations. New alterations was made in the mid 50s.
Falk rented Duffy's summer place atop Baldy Hill in the late 50s, and purchased it in 1961. He remodeled the cottage and had a tennis court built on the property.
In the beginning it was probably meant as a joke that someone started to refer to the summer house as "Xanadu". (It is uncertain whether Mandrake's home, Xanadu, was named first or if it was the summer house.) Then Lee Falk's family members took up the theme and embellished on it. Approaching the house there are (was?) a series of signs quoting from the opening lines of "Kubla Khan", in honor of Coleridge's pleasure dome.
Behind the scenes
Several times Lee Falk used names for places from around his summer house as names and addresses in Mandrake stories.
Appearances of Pamet and other Truro names in Mandrake stories
| Year | Daily/Sunday | Title | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Dayly | "The Team" | Davis | Balston Beach |
| 1967 | Daily | "The Mysterious Bureau" | Fredericks | South Pamet |
| 1968 | Daily | "Battle of Xanadu" | Fredericks | Xanadu is located on West Pamet Road |
| 1969 | Daily | "The Bribe" | Fredericks | Pamet Street and Balston Beach |
| 1970 | Sunday | "The 3D Monster" | Fredericks | Pamet and Castlehill Roads |
| 1970 | Daily | "The Clay Camel (plus Women's Lib!)" | Fredericks | Pamet Warehouse and Depot Road |
| 1971 | Daily | "Magic Man" | Fredericks | A road sign; South Pamet - Depot Rd |
| 1971 | Daily | "The Rogues" | Fredericks | Collins Rd at Pamet |
| 1972 | Daily | "The Mission" | Fredericks | Pamet Park |
| 1972 | Daily | "Trail of the Pusher" | Fredericks | 12-A Pamet Street and 10 Dopott Road five minutes north at Collins |
| 1972 | Daily | "Dr Xoz Prof. of Smells" | Fredericks | 27 North Pamet |
| 1975 | Daily | "The Thieves" | Fredericks | SS Royal Pamet |
| 1975 | Sunday | "Ghost Town" | Fredericks | Moxley University in Pamet Valley |
| 1977 | Daily | "The Cooler" | Fredericks | Collins and Pamet, Pamet and 8th |
| 1984 | Sunday | "Dr Ffark's Cosmic Circus" | Fredericks | On the road to Truro |
| 1987 | Daily | "The Executioner from 8" | Fredericks | Bradford and Pamet, hide-out for the 6th arm of 8. |
| 1989 | Daily | "The Gift from 8" | Fredericks | Pamet Street, hide-out of the 7th arm of 8 |
| 1997 | Sunday | "Mandrake Marries Narda" | Fredericks | Guests in the wedding; Baron and Baroness of Truro, Duke and Duchess of Wellfleet |
| 1998 | Daily | "Mandrake's Wedding at Xanadu" | Fredericks | Guests in the wedding; Baron and Baroness of Truro, Duke and Duchess of Wellfleet |