A brunette demonstrating Aphroditism

Eastminster is located somewhere near the border of Quirinelle, although the fashions and cultural trends in this town are rather more Trentish and Vintesselike than Quirrie. (For an introduction to Aristasian geography, please visit the Aristasian Elektraspace)

In the centre of the town is the village green. More of a central park than a mere lawn, the green covers several acres. The library, town hall, art museum, the Rafaelle (a luxury hotel), the genealogical society, chapel, and post office are all located on the green, and Eastminster's townfolk often enjoy a quiet day picnicking in the park, feeding the swans, rowboating on the lake, or strolling through the rose garden. (A map of the town will eventually be posted here, as well as links to the various official buildings of Eastminster)

On the first Saturday of every month, except in the winter, merchants hold a fair on the green. Carnivals, circus performers, musical groups, church revivalists, barbershop quartets (which are not strictly speaking Aristasian, but which are charming nonetheless), summer Shakespeare troupes, and the occaisional travelling craft fair also use the village green when they come to town.

The shopping district is very close to the village green.

About a mile to the north is a boarding school for young ladies who wish to concentrate strictly on the Great Books (the trivium and quadrivium of Western literature. The structure of lectures and tutorials is very similar to that used in the old Universite de Paris, save that all seven subjects are studied after the initial study of the quadrivium ("grammar school" in the Elizabethan sense of the word). Most of the graduates of the Estrella School go on to study at the University of Milchford in Trent (Aristasia's original and real version of Oxford Univesity in Telluria).

To the west is a charming bed and breakfast inn, which opens its tearoom every afternoon; to the south is a boarding stable for dressage horses; a second commercial district, in the newer part of Eastminster, has the movie theatre, a dance hall, a soda shop, a pizza parlour, a diner, a rather swank French restaurant, two pubs, a bowling alley, and more shops. Aside from the French restaurant, the area is known more for its convenience and cozy comfort than for its high class. This extreme eastern part of the town is very Quirrie.

If you travel about five miles or so eastward, you will eventually reach the boardwalks of Coney Island, which is open between the months of May and October.

A variety of cottages and houses are scattered about - some are Quirinelle artifacts, white frame houses with picket fences and manicured, immaculate lawns, while others are more traditional looking. The newer houses are located in the eastern outskirts of the town, while old Eastminster's architecture roughly corresponds to the cottages of Tudor England, as well as the better Victorian houses of the Tellurian nineteenth century. There are a handful of fashionable Trentish dwellings as well, one of which is locally famous for its sumptuous Art Neo decor. The more well-to-do residents of Eastminster live in the older, statelier homes.

The interior of the Ladyton House, a Trentish style dwelling

Among these prominent citizens you will find Juliana Milchford, a spinster of indeterminate age (she appears to be in her late twenties, but she has looked that age for as long as anyone can remember). Miss Milchford teaches medieval humanities at the boarding school, and occasionally is a guest lecturer at the University. Her sister, Anna Milchford, and Anna's wife, the lovely blonde Mariana Milchford, and their two daughters Leila (blonde, age fourteen) and Elspeth (brunette, age twelve) live near the town centre. Elspeth will soon be sent to boarding school; Leila already attends.

Mariana's cousin is the Lady Iris de Winter, a Western Arcadian who really doesn't live in Eastminster at all, but she does her best to stay in touch with the family. The younger de Winter, Olympe, visits her cousins periodically, but she is a little wild and it is hoped that when she comes up to Milchford to read for her degree in archaeology, she will acquire a little more polish.

Also among the "first citizens" of Eastminster is Miss Elaine Ladyton, who holds regular book club meetings and poetry salons, as well as teaching culinary arts classes; and of course the venerable Misses India and Catherine Stanhope, who are the descendents of Eastminster's town mothers. Catherine Stanhope is the president of the bank and heads the chamber of commerce, while India Stanhope (nee Peabody) is a prominent hostess and holds a large Christmas party every year. She also organizes the periodic debutante's cotillion.

Eastminster is, finally, lately the home of Miss Susan Novaria, an exotic and strikingly beautiful musical conductor. Miss Novaria is as famous for her performing talent as a pianist and a cellist as she is for her skill as a conductor, and Eastminster is quite proud to have attracted her.

Would you like to visit the library and peruse the stacks? Or spend some time in the Stanhope Museum of Arts and Antiquities? Perhaps you would like to attend a movie at the Starlight Theatre, and view the gallery of portraits that graces the lobby. Or maybe you would like to visit the Estrella School, or attend Miss Ladyton's culinary classes and cultivate your inner Hestia.

Welcome to Eastminster - please make yourself at home!

The various sections of the town (movie theatre, boarding school, etc) have yet to be built in Elektraspace, but they should arrive soon. Also look forward to meeting some of the residents of Eastminster.