title: A Gothic Lesson in Love
author: Bennett, C.S.
description: A former child musical prodigy and professor of philosophy, and tutor for the daughter and niece of a very rich and powerful English nobleman, Professor Seabrook is abruptly forced to withdraw from the public eye by a circumstance so scandalous that it could cost him his very life if it ever came to light. In an effort to preserve himself he quietly retreats to a lofty English estate left to him by a wealthy uncle and takes on a new name and personage. There he remains a very private and mysterious figure living a lonely and dark secluded existence; his only contact with other human beings, the local food deliveryman and his devoted and trusted housekeeper. That is, until 1962 when an unworldly and seemingly naïve 22 year old Southern American, visiting her aunt in England for the summer, shows up at his doorsteps and turns his world upside down. But is this innocent looking woman as naïve and unworldly as everyone thinks is the one question he begins to ponder. Unaware of the auricular arrangement that her mother has made, in collusion with her aunt in London, my young leading lady has no clue she is being urged to visit London to learn about men, love, life and her own sexuality from her more worldly and more sophisticated aunt who has retired there. It turns out that what she learns from her aunt pales in comparison to what the professor in-exile has to teach her on the subject. Virtue, commitment, passion, sexuality, and love are the subjects he tutors her on and from a man’s perspective, a man most of the townspeople have cultivated a dark and haunting legend around. In return she gives him a thought-provoking lesson on trust and love, a lesson he has forgotten over the years. Together, theirs is a mutual and philosophical bond that eventually grows into something bigger and to the point it begins to shed light on his dark and lonely existence behind wrought-iron gates, and on the dark secret that put him there. Their time together also paves the way for this young woman to blossom into a mature woman. A Gothic Lesson In Love…a love story the great philosopher Socrates would approve of.