Spotlight on Lee Falk - The Summer House

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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