Como Park Neighborhood, Saint Paul: Most of this chapter is dedicated to Elspeth and her new boyfriend Jim’s search of Michael’s home in Como Park for his copy of the Guild’s secret grimoire, Liber Iadnamad. Most of the homes in Como Park were built between 1900 and 1910 in the Victorian style, especially those along the lake. As you can see from the map below, a parkway runs all the way around the lake so a house like Michael’s that is said to be “on the lake” is not actually built on the shore, but on the other side of the parkway facing the water.
The open area to the west of the lake is a public area that includes the large park building, which is built right on the lakeshore.
No driveways exit onto the parkway, so an alley runs behind all of the lake-facing homes providing access to the garages built behind them. This is how Elspeth and Jim enter the house.
Michael’s house is described as a fairly standard Victorian foursquare design with a central staircase, large living room to the right, dining room/temple and kitchen to the left, four upstairs bedrooms, and a livable attic. A number of such houses line the south side of Lake Como, and this is where I envisioned Michael’s house would be when I was writing the novel.
S C O T T M I C H A E L S T E N W I C K 