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Word Spreads About "The Search for Peter Hunt"

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"The Search for Peter Hunt by Lynn C. Van Dine is an adventurous fictionalized biography about a dynamic twentieth-century artist. A fresh and vibrantly told story, The Search for Peter Hunt is a very highly recommended and deftly written novel from beginning to end."
(James A Cox, January, 2003)

From the Provincetown Banner:

"It’s taken seven years of research to produce Lynn Van Dine’s The Search for Peter Hunt (The Local History Company), but fans and even those who have never heard of the enigmatic folk artist will agree the result is a splendid piece of writing and a fascinating tale of self-invention.
"...'Peter seems so simple and straightforward and in some ways he was,' Van Dine says of Hunt's direction in life. 'His approach was, have fun. If you are not having fun, it’s not worth doing. It seems simplistic but it’s very sage advice. Measure what you are doing and if you are not enjoying it, maybe it’s the wrong thing to be doing. It’s the ultimate peasant attitude – in a good life, you have some fun.' "

(Sue Harrison, November 28, 2002)

Show and Tell
Author Lynn Van Dine shows an example of a Peter Hunt chest to fourth graders at Thomas Edison School in Port Huron, Michigan. Fourth grade teacher Genine Evenson invited Van Dine to talk as part of a course on folk art.

The Local History Company, publisher of "The Search for Peter Hunt," put together this press release. They can provide additional information on stores carrying the book, how to order the book, or media inquiries. Email Info@TheLocalHistoryCompany.com.

From Cape Cod's A-Plus

"The late Provincetown artist Peter Hunt was ahead of his time, both in his anticipation of the popularity of folk art and his self-invented celebrity. While the “peasant” designs he created briefly gripped the public imagination and were a triumph of mid-20th century marketing, Hunt’s true skills were in the myth-making abilities that gained him entree into the upper social circles of both New York and Provincetown.
    "He was, according to author Lynn Van Dine, 'a terrible, and wonderful, liar.'
    "Van Dine spent seven years piecing together the mystery of Peter Hunt’s life, a story she tells in a fictionalized biography, The Search for Peter Hunt, scheduled for publication this month by the Local History Company. It’s fitting, she says, that the life of a man who constantly reinvented himself and his history be couched in fiction.
    "She uses a framing device in the book to explore what she imagines would be Hunt’s reaction, casting the artist, who died in 1967, as a ghost trying to discourage the author from writing his biography.
    "Despite its fictional trappings, The Search for Peter Hunt is meticulously researched and steeped in the actual people and events that shaped Hunt’s life and career."

(Tim Wood, October, 2002)

From the Cape Cod Chronicle, Chatham, Mass.:

"Van Dine decided to approach the story as part mystery, part biography, using her quest for the truth and Hunt’s obstructionist ghost as vehicles to propel the book along. The book also includes a section of color photos and hints on how to recreate Peter Hunt designs.

Since the book’s debut last month, Van Dine’s Web site has been flooded with stories about Hunt from readers. What struck her most about them is that all are either funny or complimentary. 'In all the time I’ve worked on this story, I don’t think anybody has had a nasty thing to say about him,' she said."

(Tim Wood, November, 2002)

From the Times Herald, Port Huron, Michigan:

"The Search for Peter Hunt is a detective story and a ghost story, a novel masquerading as biography. I found it quite brilliant.
"Yet for all that, the best tale here isn't Peter Hunt's. It's Lynn Van Dine's. How a freelance writer from Marysville -- ill and unsure if she'd ever write again -- came to publish a book about an East Coast poopy-darling is a story in itself. "
(Mike Connell, December 15, 2002)