Sparks and New Bern

When The New York Times or any other national media outlet publishes an article about a North Carolina topic, I jump, knowing that many of
my readers share an interest in what other people think about our state and its people

“So, when the Feb. 14 issue of the Times teased an article by Eduardo Medina titled “For Fans of Nicholas Sparks, This North Carolina City Is the Capital of Love,” I paid attention.

Medina asked why Sparks set “The Notebook” and other heart-tugging novels in New Bern, where he lives and what makes the town so  romantic?

He got an answer from Brittnee Provencher, who grew up in Norwich, Conn.  As a teenager she got lost “in the books of one of the world’s
best-known romance novelists: Nicholas Sparks.”

“She had relished every love story he wrote, many of which either mentioned or were based in New Bern, N.C., a small city wedged between
two rivers, where Mr. Sparks had moved decades ago.”

Years later, when Ms. Provencher was eager to find a new home where her own story could unfurl, she proposed an idea to her then-fiancé,
Ian. What if they moved to New Bern, stepping into the real-life version of a Sparks novel? In 2021, they packed their bags, stacked Mr. Sparks’s books in the trunk, and drove south.

The Provenchers moved to New Bern and got married there “They are not the only ones who have sought out the city of about 31,000 in eastern North Carolina, chasing the Southern romanticism that oozes from the books. Every year, local officials said, hundreds of couples and
Sparks fans visit New Bern to experience its old-fashioned charm, and to explore why it inspired ‘The Notebook’ and other heart-tugging tales steeped in earnestness.”

Fans of Sparks who visit New Bern want to see him or evidence of him. As a result they may overlook the bountiful history of the town itself, including the Native Americans and their struggles with the Swiss and English settlers, the time when the city was the capital of the North Carolina colony, and the complicated role the city played in racial struggles during and after the Civil War.

For those visitors who only want to focus on Sparks, the Times has prepared a video tour of Sparks’ home.

Here is an introduction to the tour:
Nicholas Sparks’s sprawling home in New Bern didn’t always look like a museum.

For close to 10 years, the three-story, riverfront house was overrun with the author’s five children, who threw footballs in the living room and completed their homework at the now fully dressed dining room table custom-built for 10.

“It was an active, busy household for a long time,” Mr. Sparks said. “At one point, there were four dogs and about 13 people living here — myself, my now ex-wife, our five children, an exchange student, and friends.”

Here is a link to the introduction of the video of the house:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/24/realestate/nicholas-sparks-home-north-carolina.html