Margot Peters pens final biography
ENVISION Magazine, 2004

Margot Peters, UW-Whitewater professor of English from 1969-1991, emeritus, has published a book about entertainers Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne and their restored Wisconsin estate, Ten Chimneys. The title, “Design for Living,” comes from the name of a 1933 Broadway play that Noel Coward wrote especially for the famous couple.

Peters saw the potential for a biography back in 1985 when she took a tour of Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot given by the Wisconsin Historical Society. At that time the estate was in bad shape with leaky roofs and other extensive repairs needed. In 1995 the caretaker died and theatre historian Joe Garton came to the rescue. He began a fund-raising campaign that raised $12.1 million that saved Ten Chimneys from developers and put the property on the National Register for Historical Homes. Peters dedicated the book to Garton, who died last August but was able to read the book before his death.

She noted, “The Lunts were a real delight to write about and I was pleased to end my biographical career with them.” In the future she plans to write mystery novels.

Peters, who lives in Lake Mills, has written seven biographies and recently received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her biography “The House of Barrymore.” – Jane Provorse