Frontier Elegance

The early architecture of Walpole, NH - 1750-1850

From its frontier beginnings, the Connecticut Valley town of Walpole, New Hampshire has come to personify the quintessential New England country town. At the forefront of Walpole’s picturesque landscape is its amazing collection of elegant homes and buildings that date from the first century of the town’s settlement.  Beginning in the eighteenth century, Frontier Elegance tells the story of how architectural style developed and evolved. Originating in Europe, guidebooks helped in the migration of architectural style to the urban coastal communities of New England and eventually to the inland communities of the Connecticut River Valley.  Utilizing available materials and catering to individual tastes, the people who designed, built, and occupied these structures would play an equally important and fascinating role in developing a strong community that continues to value and preserve its past.

Northern Light

Essays and True Stories

Northern Light gathers a diverse collection of essays, stories, and reviews that has something for every reader. Based largely on the observations and experiences of the author’s thirty-seven-year career as a public-school teacher and coach in New Hampshire, readers will be both informed and entertained by these stories and personal essays. Be inspired by the courage of a physically challenged student, humored by the escapades of a wildly ill-behaved family dog, and amazed to discover how freedom and equality are contributing to the deep political divide in America today. From the inspiring to the whimsical to the solemn and serious, this collection will make you wonder, make you laugh, and make you think. 

Praise for Northern Light:

 "Bill seamlessly juxtaposes philosophical wisdom with quotidian minutia. These tales are consoling without becoming cliché.”

— Paul Reyns, contributing poet, Common Ground Review

West of Boston

Growing up Red sox in a Yankee Household

Travel back to suburban Boston of the 1960s and 70s with Bill and his brothers Mark and Ron. While following their beloved but pathetic Boston Red Sox, the boys are busy carving out their individual athletic paths. However, everything changes as the Impossible Dream season of 1967 puts the Red Sox on center stage for every Boston sports fan. The only complication for Bill and his brothers is their Dad is a Yankee fan! Follow Bill all the way to Yankee Stadium in October of 2004 as the Sox complete the greatest comeback in all of sports, beating the hated Yankees on their way to their first World Series victory in 86 years.

Reviews for West of Boston:

“West of Boston tells of those “less than” years of the Red Sox, that emotional roller coaster ride every Red Sox fan has been on. There's a bigger story here though. It is one of a healthy perspective of growing from personal defeats. Keep writing, coach, I enjoyed every page!”

— Eagle Reader, Amazon Review

“This is an authentic story about perspective, opportunity, and the twists and turns of a life well-lived. As a Massachusetts resident myself, Bill sounds exactly like the kind of guy you'd want to sit next to in Fenway Park!”

— Tim D., Amazon Review

Asher Benjamin

American Architect, Author, Artist

From the rural backwater of Hartland Connecticut, Asher Benjamin would rise to become of the most important yet overlooked figures of American architecture in the first half of the nineteenth century. Taking inspirations from the neoclassical designs of the Boston architect Charles Bulfinch, Benjamin would be the driving force behind the transformation of the Connecticut Valley from an isolated provincial outpost to a sophisticated urban frontier. His later Boston designs, many of which survive, evinced a maturity and elegance which made the city a model of Federal design for the young nation. In addition to his building designs in 1797 Asher Benjamin would write and published The Country Builders Assistant, the first architectural guidebook by a native born American. Never losing sight of his roots as a rural carpenter and housewright, Benjamin spent his entire career supporting country builders and the establishment of a uniquely American architecture.

William C. Brocklesby

A connecticut Valley architect In the guilded age

The late nineteenth century, known commonly as the “Gilded Age” produced some of the most beautiful yet controversial architecture in America’s history. The great influencers of the period, including Richard Upjohn, Henry Hobson Richardson, and Charles McKim, each spread the gospel of his own architectural style. The result was an eclectic mix of styles that some detested but that others embraced. Caught in the struggle to find an architecture America could claim as its own, Hartford, Connecticut architect William Brocklesby carved out his own stylistic path. In an age when the taste for ostentation and pretension was adopted by many, William Brocklesby produced some of the most dignified and beautiful architecture in the Connecticut Valley. His churches, libraries, and theaters remain as artistic landmarks throughout western New England, and his work at colleges from Hartford to Amherst, Massachusetts have contributed to the creation of some of the most beautiful and picturesque college campuses in America.

William C. Brocklesby

a connecticut valley architect in the gilded age

The late nineteenth century, known commonly as the “Gilded Age” produced some of the most beautiful yet controversial architecture in America’s history. The great influencers of the period, including Richard Upjohn, Henry Hobson Richardson, and Charles McKim, each spread the gospel of his own architectural style. The result was an eclectic mix of styles that some detested but that others embraced. Caught in the struggle to find an architecture America could claim as its own, Hartford, Connecticut architect William Brocklesby carved out his own stylistic path. In an age when the taste for ostentation and pretension was adopted by many, William Brocklesby produced some of the most dignified and beautiful architecture in the Connecticut Valley. His churches, libraries, and theaters remain as artistic landmarks throughout western New England, and his work at colleges from Hartford to Amherst, Massachusetts have contributed to the creation of some of the most beautiful and picturesque college campuses in America.

Copies of William C. Brocklesby available now at your favorite bookstore or online at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com.

After retiring from high school teaching and coaching in 2016, Bill Ranauro turned his time and efforts to writing. His latest offering is titled William C. Brocklesby: A Connecticut Valley Architect in the Gilded Age. Just as with his previous book, this is the biography of an important figure in the architectural and artistic history of New England. Bill has authored four other books, including Asher Benjamin: American Architect, Author, Artist; a memoir, West of Boston: Growing Up Red Sox in a Yankee Household; a local architectural history, Frontier Elegance: The Early Architecture of Walpole, New Hampshire 1750-1850, and an essay collection, Northern Light: Essays and True Stories.

When he isn’t writing, Bill loves traveling with his wife Lisa, planning his next trip to see the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and spending time with family. Bill and Lisa live in southwestern New Hampshire and have two grown children they are most proud of, Daniel and Emily.