The House of a Thousand Candles

A young engineer, fresh from travels in Europe, receives a surprising letter that forces him to abandon his overseas plans and return to the United States. His late grandfather’s will stipulates that he must spend a full year living in the remote Glenarm House in Indiana, maintaining an “orderly and temperate” lifestyle, or lose the inheritance altogether. The condition sets the stage for a reluctant but intriguing homecoming, as he steps into a house steeped in family history and mystery.

The protagonist’s old school rival, the meticulous lawyer Arthur Pickering, now oversees the estate, adding a sharp edge of competition to the arrangement. Their long‑standing antagonism bubbles beneath the formal reading of the will, promising witty exchanges and a clash of personalities. As he settles into the creaking manor, the promise of hidden secrets and the challenge of meeting the will’s terms hint at a summer of unexpected adventures.