A real “Love Story” castle: romance novels to read at Atalaya near Myrtle Beach

There is a castle on the beach south of Myrtle Beach, and it was built by a couple. Atalaya, in Huntington Beach State Park, was the winter home of sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, Archer Milton Huntington. They built it in the 1930s, about 150 yards from the ocean, with 30 rooms, a library for Archer and an art studio for Anna, according to the National Park Service.

A room of his own and a studio of her own, under the same roof, facing the Atlantic. If that is not a “Love Story,” Taylor Swift never wrote one. Here are three love stories to read there, all of them famous on the page and on the screen.

What is Atalaya at Huntington Beach State Park?

Atalaya is the “picturesque, Moorish-style winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington,” according to South Carolina State Parks. Visitors can explore the house and learn its history. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, until 5 p.m. during daylight saving time, and it may close for large events, so call the park office before you go. The park also has 3 miles of beach for when you need a break between chapters.

Which classic love story should you read at Atalaya?

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is the one Taylor Swift rewrote, so start there. The Pelican Shakespeare edition from Penguin Classics is edited and introduced by Peter Holland, with notes on the text and an essay on Shakespeare’s theater, according to Penguin Random House.

It is short enough to finish in an afternoon in the courtyard. Read the balcony scene out loud. Nobody will judge you in a castle.

Which love story is set in the Carolina marsh?

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, is the marsh love story that belongs on this coast. In 1969, in the North Carolina coastal town of Barkley Cove, Chase Andrews is found dead, and the town suspects Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl” who has lived alone in the marsh for years. As she opens up to two young men from town, her life changes, according to Penguin Random House.

It is a mystery, a coming-of-age story and a love letter to the wetlands, the same kind of salt marsh you drive past on the way to the park. The book is also a 2022 movie, and Taylor Swift wrote a song for it: “Carolina.”

Which love story keeps coming back to the same two people?

Normal People, by Sally Rooney, is the one that will wreck you quietly. Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in Ireland with very different places in the school pecking order. They end up at Trinity College Dublin and keep drifting toward other people, and keep coming back to each other, according to Penguin Random House.

The book is the basis for the Emmy-nominated Hulu series starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, who also played Kya in the Where the Crawdads Sing movie. Two heroines, one actress, one afternoon at a castle. For the playlist: “exile.”

How do you spend a romantic reading day at Atalaya?

Arrive in the morning, walk the house while the light comes through the windows, and find a quiet spot outside to read. Take your lunch to the beach, then come back for the last chapters. The Huntingtons built Atalaya so they could work side by side through the winter, which is a very good reason to bring someone you love and two different books.

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