by LibbyAtwater | Jul 15, 2016 | Blog, The Spirit of Villarosa
Many historical figures appear in The Spirit of Villarosa.
Horace met a Chinese gentleman named Yuan Shikai aboard a steamer ship bound for Japan. Little did Horace know that this man was a Chinese army leader and reformist minister toward the end of the Qing dynasty. In 1912 Yuan Shikai became the first president of the Republic of China in 1912, a position he held until his death in June 1916.
Horace recounts, “Aboard ship, I met a remarkable Chinese gentleman, Yuan Shikai, who became my companion for a daily promenade around the deck. He impressed me immensely with his memory. We would chat, and he could tell me the exact dates and the names of all commanders in every important battle of the American War for Independence and the War Between the States. … Yuan Shikai awakened my curiosity about China and other lands I never dreamed I’d visit. His words inspired me to travel and live among different cultures.”
To discover more of Horace’s adventures, please read The Spirit of Villarosa, www.thespiritofvillarosa.com.
This image depicts Horace Dade Ashton with Princess Houang Ti Teh, daughter of the King of Indo-China in Paris, 1932.
by LibbyAtwater | Jul 12, 2016 | Blog, Events, The Spirit of Villarosa
Author Libby J. Atwater will launch The Spirit of Villarosa, a book written with Horace Dade Ashton and Marc Ashton, at a joint meeting of The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles and the Southern California Explorers Club on July 21, 2016. Author Marc Ashton makes his Southern California debut at this event, where he will talk about being kidnapped by four armed men near his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and how he channeled his famous father’s adventures to survive.
Cocktails begin at 6 p.m. with dinner to follow at 7 p.m. The presentation begins at 8:30 p.m.
Reservations are required.
Please visit the Adventurers’ Club website at the following address for more information. http://www.adventurersclub.org/About.php
by LibbyAtwater | Jun 24, 2016 | Blog, The Spirit of Villarosa
White Cattleya Orchid
Have you ever wondered where the beautiful blooms of the white cattleya orchid that we enjoy today originated?
In 1906 two young Englishmen accepted a job from a wealthy countryman to travel to the Rio Negro Valley in Colombia, South America, where these rare orchids were reportedly spotted by a group of rubber gatherers. Explorer Horace Ashton encountered the young men at the boardinghouse where all three stayed. After the would-be explorers admitted they’d never been in the jungle and Ashton said he’d just returned from mapping the Magdalena River, they enlisted him as their guide.
To read about their adventure and how the orchids lived to become the parents of the white cattleya that can be seen throughout the world today, read The Spirit of Villarosa, available on June 28, 2016. This true adventure story contains a treasure trove of unknown tales.
by LibbyAtwater | Jun 24, 2016 | Blog, The Spirit of Villarosa
Can you imagine discussing religion with Rasputin, spiritual advisor to Czarina Alexandra, the wife of Nicholas II of Russia?
When Horace Ashton traveled the world with President-Elect William Howard Taft in 1908, he had an audience with Russia’s last royal couple. The czarina asked, “How did such a young man become the press liaison officer with President Taft’s party?” (more…)
by LibbyAtwater | Feb 14, 2016 | Blog
How often have you heard a story and asked, “Is that really true?” Sometimes life’s events seem too bizarre to have actually occurred—but they did. The Spirit of Villarosa, a book I coauthored that will soon be released, contains tales told by a known raconteur, whose stories were sometimes doubted but were filled with truth. (more…)
