Closing the Year with Enchantment

A Book for the Holiday Break: Author Kathleen Rooney builds a story of enchantment, room by room, in ‘From Dust to Stardust’; plus: Cookie of the Season and a 25-day Chocolate Tour

Inside The Fairy Castle. Photo: The Museum of Science and Industry

Hi, everyone. this will be the final post of 2023 and I want to thank you so much for being here. I’ve paused paid subscriptions until I return in late January, so you won’t be charged a monthly fee and yearly subscriptions will extend. Wishing you all the very best in the New Year! Jolene

Kathleen Rooney. From Dust to Stardust, 2023. Link: HERE

If you asked me to recommend a book for you to enjoy over the holiday break, a story that’s beautifully written and wise and has magic in it, I would tell you to read Kathleen Rooney’s From Dust to Stardust.

Ms. Rooney has written a novel based on real-life silent film superstar, Colleen Moore, and Ms. Moore’s successful quest to create a magnificent dollhouse.

Colleen More as “Irene O’Dare” in the 1926 film “Irene” Photo: Getty Images

This is no ordinary dollhouse. The miniature contents contained within have historical, artistic, literary, culinary and cultural significance. Since 1949 “Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle” has been on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the last remaining building from the 1893 World’s Fair.

Moore toured the U.S. during the Depression with the castle, raising $600,000 for children’s charities, the equivalent of 10 million US dollars today.

The Fairy Castles inhabitants are left to your imagination, as Colleen Moore always intended.

— Museum of Science and Industry

Colleen Moore circa 1949 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Photo: Getty Images

I’ve linked to the MSI video and information about the castle and Colleen Moore here: FairyCastle. I really hope you’ll take a look because it’s surprising.

I visited recently and was completely wowed, not only by its beauty but its ability to effortlessly open the door to your imagination as you stand before it.

Two of my favorite rooms: the dining room and kitchen, of course.

The Dining Room. Photo: MSI

The dining table is a replica of King Arthur’s round table and the glassware is over 100-years-old and made of crystal.

The Kitchen. Photo: Getty Images

The kitchen walls are covered in fairy tales and the Royal Doulton dinner service is a replica of that in Queen Mary’s dollhouse.

The real secret of the fairy castle is that the space inside your mind is also part of the experience.

— Museum of Science and Industry

Kathleen Rooney, Writer

Kathleen Rooney in front of the Fairy Castle. Photo: Beth Rooney

I had the pleasure of meeting Kathleen Rooney at The American Writer’s Museum here in Chicago when she was representing the organization she co-founded “Poems While You Wait” (link: https://poemswhileyouwait.tumblr.com) at an event.

What captivated her about Colleen Moore and the Castle? Kathleen has this to say:

I first laid eyes on the Fairy Castle when I was eight years old and the structure has remained in my mind’s eye ever since, in part because it’s an enchanting feat unto itself, but in larger part because I was fascinated by the person who created it.

Back when I visited the museum had a lot of posters and placards and exploratory material about Colleen Moore, the woman behind the magic: her two different colored eyes, her going to Hollywood as a teen, and her touring the Castle during the Great Depression to raise money for children in need.

The Fairy Castle. Photo: Getty Images

As a kid, I was struck by fellow-feeling—living her life with such joy and adventure seemed like something a kid would want to do. And she, a grown-up person, led that life. I could hardly believe it.

Colleen Moore, 1924. Getty Images

In 2016 I was thinking about what I wanted to write my new novel about, Colleen and her castle seemed a natural choice.

I appreciate her skill not just as a visionary artist and philanthropist, but as a superbly comic actor.

Her joie de vivre in every aspect of her existence made me want to tell her story.

— Kathleen Rooney, 2023

Thank you for joining us, Kathleen. ✨

Cookie of the Season

In my kitchen, Spitzbuben with a 60 year old ornament that belonged to my mother. Photo: Jolene

We are now in the pre-Christmas-baking home stretch, and my “Cookie of the Season” for the past three years is the Brown Butter Cardamom Spitzbuben (translation: “cheeky boy”) from Bon Appétit, recipe: Here. It’s so good!

25 Days of Chocolate

Birgitte Rasine

of The Cacao Muse is doing a wild 25 day Holiday Chocolate Tour, each day pairing chocolates with writers, most recently Sabrina Smith of

Kenshō studio

(I’ll be part of the tour next week) Follow along, it’s a lot of fun and great information about chocolate.

Holiday Tour Day 15: Seven Senses and Treat Dreams

Illustration, 1939, Getty Images

Many thanks again for traveling along with me this year. Wishing you a New Year of enchantment, beauty and joie de vivre, the things that uplift us all.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight! 🎄❤️

Jolene