From the Mark Twain House and Museum
"Thought of as a 'genius' in a family of eccentrics, Stowe was an odd and whimsical woman," writes Joan Hedrick at the outset of her masterful biography, Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life. Then, going on to adapt some of Stowe's own words about individuality, Hedrick says: "By placing Stowe's life in the context of her times, I have tried to lift her by her own proper handle and run her in her own proper groove."
Hedrick's great work on the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1995. It brilliantly combines Stowe's life story with an examination of the role of women in developing American literature during the 19th century.
And on Thursday, February 3, Hedrick herself, the Charles A. Dana Professor of History at Trinity College, and a resident of Middletown, will lead a discussion of the classic biography at The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.
A reception at 5:00 p.m. will open the event, with the book discussion starting at 5:30. While having read the book is of course to be preferred, this unusual literary occasion is open to all, and not to be missed. Admission is free.
The event is the first in the series of Nook Farm Book Talks (formerly the Nook Farm Book Club), a collaboration of the Stowe Center and The Mark Twain House & Museum. Talks will be held on the first Thursdays of each month, only August excepted, and will alternate between the two museums.
The popular book club-style talks drew groups large and small last year as they explored Twain's and Stowe's works - along with the issues that captivated the two authors celebrated in the Nook Farm neighborhood. This year, selections range from Twain's little-known masterpiece of racial identity, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, to a present-day bestseller with a message, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
A list of books to be read over the year follows. Receptions are at 5:00 p.m.; discussions are at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended: Call Kate Rounds at 860-522-9258, Ext. 317, or email krounds@stowecenter.org. Books discussed are available at the museums' gift shops.
The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's Hartford, Connecticut, home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. The museum's mission is to foster appreciation of the legacy of Mark Twain. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visit www.marktwainhouse.org.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center preserves and interprets Stowe's Hartford home and the Center's historic collections, promotes vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspires commitment to social justice and positive change. This year, the Center marks the Bicentennial of Stowe's birth with a range of events and observances. For more information, call 860-522-9258, Ext. 317, or visit www.HarrietBeecherStowe.org.
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