A Florida Enchantment
Dublin Core
Abstract
**Warning: Some readers may find certain scenes in this book disturbing.**
Wealthy New Yorker, Lillian Travers, visits St. Augustine in 1891 to see both her aunt and a local friend, Bessie Horton. After buying a mysterious box that contains the seeds of a magic tree located in Africa, Lillian discovers that eating the seeds causes one’s sex to change. Lillian becomes Lawrence Talbot in a fit of jealousy when she thinks her fiancée is dallying with another woman. Her fiancée also eats a seed and becomes a woman. Lillian/Lawrence woes and wins the hand of her/his one-time St. Augustine friend, Bessie.
Local locations visited or mentioned include, but are not limited to the Hotel Ponce de Leon, Cordova Hotel, King Street, St. George Street, and the Castillo de San Marcos.
The DVD is a silent film from 1914 starring Sidney Drew and Edith Storey. It was filmed on-location at the Hotel Ponce de Leon (exteriors only, interiors were filmed in a stage building, see Thomas Graham's Silent Films in St. Augustine), as well as several other St. Augustine locations.
Wealthy New Yorker, Lillian Travers, visits St. Augustine in 1891 to see both her aunt and a local friend, Bessie Horton. After buying a mysterious box that contains the seeds of a magic tree located in Africa, Lillian discovers that eating the seeds causes one’s sex to change. Lillian becomes Lawrence Talbot in a fit of jealousy when she thinks her fiancée is dallying with another woman. Her fiancée also eats a seed and becomes a woman. Lillian/Lawrence woes and wins the hand of her/his one-time St. Augustine friend, Bessie.
Local locations visited or mentioned include, but are not limited to the Hotel Ponce de Leon, Cordova Hotel, King Street, St. George Street, and the Castillo de San Marcos.
The DVD is a silent film from 1914 starring Sidney Drew and Edith Storey. It was filmed on-location at the Hotel Ponce de Leon (exteriors only, interiors were filmed in a stage building, see Thomas Graham's Silent Films in St. Augustine), as well as several other St. Augustine locations.
Identifier
Item 1: SPECIAL PS1769 .G3 F4 1891
Item 2: DVD Florida
Item 2: DVD Florida
Access Rights
Item 1: This item is part of Special Collections and is accessible by appointment-only.
Item 2: This item is part of the DVD Collection and can be checked out with a valid Flagler ID. Non-Flagler affiliates will need to request this book through their local library's Inter-Library Loan program.
Item 2: This item is part of the DVD Collection and can be checked out with a valid Flagler ID. Non-Flagler affiliates will need to request this book through their local library's Inter-Library Loan program.
Creator
Title
A Florida Enchantment
Contributor
Fergus Redmond
Publisher
New York: Hurst & Co.
Date
Format
Hardcover book
DVD
DVD
Language
English
Audience
Subject
Fantasy or Paranormal
Romance
Romance
Coverage
Flagler Era
Accrual Method
Purchased
Has Format
Available for free on HathiTrust.
References
Gardner, Janette C. An Annotated Bibliography of Florida Fiction, 1801-1980. St. Petersburg, FL: Little Bayou Press, 1983.
Mason, Walter Scott. The People of Florida as Portrayed in American Fiction. Nashville, TN: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1949.McCarthy, Kevin. M. The Book Lover’s Guide to Florida. 1st ed. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 1992.
McCarthy, Kevin. M. “Historical St. Augustine in Fiction.” El Escribano 15 (1978): 61-69.
Bibliographic Citation
Guntering, Archibald Clavering and Fergus Redmond. A Florida Enchantment. New York: Hurst & Co., 1891.
Collection
Citation
Archibald Clavering Gunter, “A Florida Enchantment,” St. Augustine Fiction, accessed July 16, 2025, https://staugustinefiction.omeka.net/items/show/47.