Linus Zachariah Broadwell was born October 5, 1971, in Jackson, Mississippi to Myrna and Jacob Broadwell.
His mother was a violinist and taught Linus his appreciation of music and the fine arts, leading him to develop an interest in painting and gourmet cooking. His father was a tailor and taught Linus the virtue of patience and the importance of detail, which caused Linus to develop a love of all the minutiae of life.
In 1993, Linus graduated from the University of Mississippi with a B.A. in English and a minor in Art History.
His love of antiques led him to his first business venture: importing antiques and fine furniture from Europe, which he often refurbished himself. Being a collector himself, Linus has quite a selection of treasures of his own. He is said to have a Rolls Royce once owned by Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, which he has been known to take on Sunday drives around town.
As a sideline, he used his abilities to locate rare books and also became a book dealer. He was especially interested in Southern authors such as Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Harper Lee, and William Faulkner.
In 2005, Linus returned to the University of Mississippi as a part-time student and earned an M.A. in Southern Studies in 2009. As part of his Master's degree studies, Linus arranged an internship at Rowan Oak because of his fascination with the great author William Faulkner. He fell in love with Rowan Oak and has been there in one capacity or another ever since. He officially became curator of Rowan Oak in 2013.
Another of Linus' talents is writing, particularly about food. He writes for Oxford Town Magazine as a food critic under the pen name of Farnsworth Halsey.
In his free time, Linus hosts small dinner parties for friends and associates. He has never found a woman who shares his tastes or passions, so he has never married and lives alone with his two Russian wolfhounds, Faulkner and Steinbeck.
