About 23 years ago, Paul Theroux acquired a private retreat off the coast of Maine. Now, the Hawaii-based travel writer and prolific author of over 50 books—including The Mosquito Coast, which was adapted into a 1980s film and a recent TV series starring his nephew Justin Theroux—has decided to sell his Calf Island home, listing it for a reasonable $1.275 million.
Set on a seven-acre property with stunning coastal views and over 3,000 feet of waterfront on Wheeler Bay, the retreat features a post-and-beam main house and a separate guesthouse, both crafted in the 1970s by contemporary artist and furniture-maker Duane Paluska. The property includes a total of four bedrooms and two baths across just over 1,700 square feet, along with pathways winding through serene spruce-lined meadows, a mix of sand and pebble beaches, and a ramp leading to a floating dock with a rowboat.
The main home highlights a window-filled living room with rustic hardwood floors and a vaulted wood-beam ceiling, alongside a simple, functional kitchen with a dining area warmed by a wood-burning stove. According to the listing by Joseph Sortwell of Christie’s International Real Estate, the spacious upstairs room can serve as an additional bedroom or living area.
The wood-shingled guesthouse includes two bedrooms, a bath, and an open living room with a loft and its own wood-burning stove, plus a porch. The property also features a small shed and a boathouse.
Reflecting on his upbringing, the 83-year-old Maine native once shared with National Geographic, “Being a coastal New Englander really shaped my life. I would find it almost impossible to live in an inland city or town… I need to live where there’s the smell of the sea, where there’s water.” He expressed his love for areas where forest meets sea, describing such locations as “heaven” to him.
