Gone Away Lake
by Elizabeth Enright
Book Guide copyright 2026 by K. A. Stinson. Feel free to use it in your home, classroom, book club, or homeschool!
This Newberry Honor book was published in 1957 and takes place in western New York state around that time. There is no magic involved, but it has kind of a time-travel feel. Julian (12) and Portia (11) go exploring and find a swamp surrounded by decrepit old Victorian houses. The two elderly residents live as though it’s still the late 19th/early 20th century. Amusing adventures ensue as the kids make friends with the old folks and learn about the past.
IMPORTANT: You and your kids will enjoy the story more if you take a quick peek at the links in # 1, #2, and #3 below BEFORE reading the book. The pictures will help you immerse yourself in the over-the-top, ultra-cluttered world of Victorian architecture, decor, and fashion.
IDEAS FOR BRINGING GONE-AWAY LAKE ALIVE
1. Click these links to see various styles of Victorian house exteriors.
2. Now go inside and have a look at some Victorian house interiors.
3. Check out the clothing styles of the 1890s that Mrs. Cheever and Mr. Payton were still wearing in the 1950s!
4, In Chapter 10, Foster is none too pleased with the fussy, fancy 1890s clothes he has to wear. Click on this link and you’ll understand why!
5. Immerse yourself in the world of the 1890s and the 1950s through these complete Sears Catalogs! You can literally look at all the things your average American family would have had (or wanted to have) in each of these time periods. You will be amazed at the dramatic change that occurred in only 60 years.
*Sears Catalog 1897 (the time period of Mrs. Cheever and Mr. Payton’s childhood) It has 786 pages, so instead of flipping through page by page, I suggest using the thumbnail view feature. Click on the icon with a square divided into 4 parts in the bottom right corner. Then scroll down to view the year 1897 at a glance, clicking on any pages that interest you to view them up close.
*Sears Catalog 1957 (the time period of Julian, Portia, and Foster’s childhood)Clicking this link will take you to a list of available catalogs. Scroll down until you find the three catalogs from 1957 - Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, and Christmas.
6.Learn about train travel in the 1950s. Here is a 10 minute video made in 1955 for the purpose of teaching school children about passenger train travel. It is about a boy traveling by train on his own, just as Portia and Foster do in the book!
Here’s an actual Dining Car menu from 1957
7.Are you wondering why Julian says Portia’s braces make her smile look like the front of a Buick? Click here and you will understand!
8.Just in case you’re wondering about the Turkish Cozy Corner mentioned in Chapter 15, click here!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ABOUT GONE-AWAY LAKE
CHAPTER ONE
Not much action takes place in this chapter. Elizabeth Enright could have just written, “Portia and Foster traveled by train to their relatives’ new home and their cousin Julian showed them around.” Instead, the author turns this simple event into a whole chapter to help us get to know the characters and the setting.
1. Describe the three children - Portia, Foster, and Julian. Tell about their looks and their personalities.
2. Describe the train ride. How was train travel in the 1950s different from train travel today?
3. Describe Julian’s home. Would you like to spend the summer there?
CHAPTER TWO
Elizabeth Enright’s detailed descriptions make the reader feel like he or she is seeing what the characters see, feeling what they feel, tasting what they taste, etc.
1. Find at least two examples of excellent descriptive passages from this chapter. Do the same for each chapter as you read the rest of the book.
2. Look at the endings of chapter one and chapter two. How does the author make you want to keep reading?
CHAPTER THREE
1. Describe Mrs. Cheever’s appearance and personality.
2. Describe Mrs. Cheever’s house. Would you like to live there? Why or why not?
CHAPTER FOUR
1. Describe Mr. Payton’s appearance and personality.
2. Who carved the words “Tarquin et Pindar - Lapis Philosophorum” on the boulder in the woods?
3. Name three things that Mrs. Cheever and Mr. Payton make using things that grow in and around the swamp.
CHAPTER FIVE
1. How do Portia and Julian mark the entrance to the wagon trail through the woods so they can find it again?
2. Describe Mr. Payton’s house. How is it different from his sister’s house?
CHAPTER SIX
1. Describe what the lake and the houses were like when Mrs. Cheever and Mr. Payton were young in the 1890s. How have things changed between the 1890s and the 1950s?
2. Describe the joke Pindar and Barney play on Tarquin and Ed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1. Describe Bellemere. What would it be like to live in a house like that?
2. Describe Baby Belle Tuckertown’s appearance and personality.
CHAPTER EIGHT
1. Describe the club room. If you were setting up a club room, what would it be like?
2. Do you think Portia and Julian should keep Gone Away a secret? Why or why not?
CHAPTER NINE
1. Describe Foster’s experience on the island.
2. Whose name does Foster find carved on the table in the old house on the island?
3. What happens to Foster at the end of the chapter?
CHAPTER TEN
1. Why do Julian and Portia not have such a good time as usual at Gone Away on this particular day?
2. When Foster first sees Mr. Payton, who does he think he is?
3. What does Foster wear to go home? Does he like this outfit?
4. Describe Aunt Hilda’s reaction when she first sees Mr. Payton, Mrs. Cheever, and Foster arrive at her house in The Machine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1. What does Mr. Payton decide to do about The Gulper?
2. Describe Portia’s new friend.
3. What did Tom and Joe think about Mr. Payton based on rumors they had heard? What do they think about him after they meet him?
CHAPTER TWELVE
1. What do the girls do while the boys are working on the bridge?
2. What problem do the girls encounter when they try to wear the old ball gowns?
3. Describe Mrs. Brace-Gideon’s Summer Musicale. Would you enjoy attending this event? Why or why not?
4. How do Minnehaha and Baby Belle rescue the summer cats?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1. Tell about some of the things Foster and Davey do on Craneycrow Island.
2. What unusual and special thing does Foster find on the island?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
1. Name five signs of fall that are mentioned in this chapter.
2. What do Portia and Lucy find when they go exploring in the woods behind Gone Away?
3. What do the girls hear in the Villa Caprice? What do they think it is? What does it turn out to be?
4. Describe the interior of the Villa Caprice.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1. Describe the Turkish Cozy Corner
2. What do Portia and her family hope to do at the end of the chapter? Do you think their wish will come true? (Tip: Read Return to Gone Away to find out!