Newburyport

The town of Clyde, the setting of many Marquand stories, is a loosely fictionalized Newburyport, Massachusetts. Any dedicated Marquand fan ought to make pilgrimage there. It’s an hour from Boston, North Station by commuter rail and a forty-five minute drive.

The first stop we recommend is the Marquand Room of the Newburyport Maritime Museum, where a number of Marquand artifacts are on display including photographs, family portraits, and book promotional materials. The rest of the museum is also worth a look. When we visited, we were treated to a tour given by a very knowledgable volunteer docent, who made Newburyport’s storied nautical history come alive. There were also a lot of cool model boats.