John Updike’s Pennsylvania childhood home to become museum

SHILLINGTON, Pa. – The Pennsylvania childhood home of author John Updike is nearing its transformation into a museum and literary centre.

The future of the Shillington home had been uncertain until The John Updike Society purchased it in 2012. Since then, the society has worked to re-create the 1930’s vibe of the late Pulitzer-Prize winner’s home, based on old photographs and Updike’s writings.

Updike spent the first 13 years of his life in the Shillington house, about 60 miles (96 kilometres) northwest of Philadelphia. The Reading Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/2uVSqvs ) Updike’s daughter is donating furniture from his childhood to the museum.

The Updike Society says restoration should be finished by the end of summer.

Updike won Pulitzers for the novels “Rabbit Is Rich” and “Rabbit at Rest.” He died in 2009 at age 76.

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Information from: Reading Eagle, http://www.readingeagle.com/