It is the big house a century in the life of an american summer home and while it is most definitely about this 8000 square foot summer mansion built in 1903 on 13 acres with 19 rooms 26 counting the bathrooms and included in that 11 bedrooms on wings neck cape cod it is even more about the generations of people who summered there. It is the big house a century in the life of an american summer home and while it is most definitely about this 8000 square foot summer mansion built in 1903 on 13 acres with 19 rooms 26 counting the bathrooms and included in that 11 bedrooms on wings neck cape cod it is even more about the generations of people who summered there. The big house has been part of the colt family history since it was built by the authors great grandfather ned atkinson in the very early years of the 18th century build on bluff overlooking cape cod it is the epitome of a bygone era during which time all the old boston families were building summer homes as an escape from the city. Alec wilkinson the big house is about the long slow separation from the beautiful past in this case a shingled house by the ocean which colts ancestors built and his family occupied in the summer for generations he writes gracefully with restraint and deep feeling and his book is a rare accomplishment. The big house a century in the life of an american summer home october 14 2009 tags anne fontaine boston buzzards bay cape cod fairy tales family history george howe colt historic preservation house of the seven gables reading list secret nooks sense of place shells on the windowsill shingle style summer house