Flannery O’Connor’s favorite animal: the peacock ©Author Adventures

Flannery O’Connor’s Farm Estate

Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) lived at her grand Milledgeville farm estate, along with her mother, Regina Cline O’Connor, in the final 13 years of the writer’s life. She passed away at the age of 39, due to lupus. You can read information about visiting the home at andalusiafarm.org. Read detailed information about the author and her work at georgiaencyclopedia.org. Also, watch this PBS program for more insights: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/stream-flannery-oconnor-documentary/16694.

She weathered her illness valiantly. According to andulsiafarm.org:

“She attended more than sixty lectures and other sessions after being diagnosed with lupus. O’Connor wrote over two dozen short stories and finished two novels during the twelve years she suffered and was on strong medication for lupus. Her house is now a museum and her resting place is in Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville, Georgia.”

Tours of Andalusia are self-guided during the day, four days a week. Given that it is not located near a major city, the travel time to and from Andalusia can be significant. Therefore, we suggest making the most of your trip by enjoying the pastoral environment that Flannery O’Connor loved so much. With its standout architecture and natural grace, Milledgeville takes you back in time. Visit the Milledgeville website for ideas about what to see and do at visitmilledgeville.org.

Her Books

Many of Flannery O’Connor’s best-known works were completed while living at Andalusia, including Wise Blood (1952), A Good Man Is Hard To Find (1955), and The Violent Bear It Away (1960).

Several award-winning books of O’Connor’s work were published after she passed away, from the 1960s to the 2000s, including Everything That Rises Must Converge, Mystery and Manners, The Complete Stories, A Habit of Being, A Prayer Journal, and Mystery and Manners.

Also see our page about Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home at Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home in Savannah.

This is the third stop in our Georgia Author Adventures Trail.

Patricia Smart