Happy 99th Birthday, Flannery O'Connor!

A recent trip to Andalusia in Milledgeville

Hello, everyone!

Today marks what would have been the 99th birthday of Flannery O’Connor, Catholic American Southern gothic author who died young after a struggle with lupus. My family recently took a spring break vacation around our state of Georgia, and we concluded with a stop at Andalusia, the farm and homestead where Flannery O’Connor lived much of her adult life.

I wanted to share some photos. These below show some of the outdoors: the property extends down to a pond and stream with a trail through the woods. We found several animal tracks along the shore in the sand and where the path was muddy from recent rain. Since O’Connor kept many bird, including peacocks, a pair lives behind the house in a newer enclosure.

The grounds are open to the public, and tours given by GSCU students take visitors through the inside of the house and are quite affordable. I could tell that our knowledgeable tour guide was passionate about her job! The most impressive thing about visiting this home is its authenticity: about 90% of the items inside the house are the exact things that were there when the O’Connors lived here. Flannery’s mother left much of the furniture and other personal items: dishes, books, wall art, even the refrigerator that was funded with money O’Connor made by selling the rights to one of her stories which she then regretted.

Sacred Heart of Jesus hanging on the wall with a papal blessing at the bottom

Cookbook belonging to Regina, the mother of Flannery O’Connor

I realize there are many mixed opinions on O’Connor’s fiction. Why do they have to be so violent, so awful? Well, I’m not here to debate that today, but one thing most will agree on is that her stark stories depict sin and its presence in humanity.

Photo of O’Connor that is now displayed inside the very book cabinet by which she is standing in the image - see the cabinet still in the house below. The chair and ottoman are even in the same place!

Flannery O’Connor did her writing at a typewriter at her desk in her bedroom. It was where she could focus best - many people see the beautiful view from the front porch and wonder if she sat out there to work, but she did not. The typewriter now at the desk is one of the same style and from that same era, but her actual typewriter is displayed elsewhere.

Everything here besides the typewriter belonged to Flannery

Flannery’s personal prayer books. Most of her extensive book collection is kept in a climate-controlled environment at Georgia College and State University nearby

We didn’t make it in time for daily Mass, but we stopped by the local Catholic church in Milledgeville, Sacred Heart, where Flannery O’Connor was a daily worshipper. It is the 150th anniversary of the church this year, interestingly.

Our final stop before leaving town was at O’Connor’s grave. Another interesting date that lines up: she died on my birthday, exactly 15 years earlier. And my daughter’s boyfriend was born on what would have been her 79th birthday. One more tidbit: my high school’s library was named for Flannery O’Connor, and we read one of her short story collections in our American Lit class. I still have that copy, and my daughter brought it here on this trip!

Hope you enjoyed this little author tour post!

In my own author news… The Fire of Your Love, Chalice Book Three, has been sent on to my publisher! Look for more updates on that later!

If you’re looking for books one and two in the Chalice Series, find both Firetender and Enkindle in Me at this link:

Until next time,

Erin