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Community Corner

Simsbury Free Library Drop In Book Club - "Henry and Clara" by Thomas Mallon

The Simsbury Free Library (SFL) announces its winter/spring Tuesday Drop In Book Club titles and dates.  While the events are free and open to the public, donations to the SFL are encouraged and appreciated and new members are always welcome.  RSVPs are requested via email (simsburyfreelibrary@gmail.com) or phone (860-408-1336). 


The SFL’s first Drop In Book Club of 2013 will be “Henry and Clara” by Thomas Mallon on January 8th.  About the book: Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were engaged to be married, when they were invited to share the Presidential box with the Lincolns at Ford's Theater on the evening of Good Friday, 1865. When John Wilkes Booth crept into the box, the young couple became witnesses to a central tragedy in American history.  But Lincoln's assassination is only one part of this novel – for in researching the lives of Henry and Clara Rathbone, Mallon uncovered an even more dramatic story of passion, scandal, heroism, murder, and madness.  As he imaginatively re-creating their lives, Mallon tells the larger story of 19th century Victorian America, a society structured above suppressed impulses and undercurrents that grew stronger as the century progressed.


The SFL’s Drop In Book Club takes place the second Tuesday of each month at 11:15 a.m.  Upcoming dates and titles are:

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  • February 12:  “The Cove” by Ron Rash

  • March 12:  “Brooklyn” by Colm Toibin

  • April 9:  “Magician of the Modern” by Eugene Gaddis

  • May 14:  “Art of Fielding” by Chad Bardbach

  • June 11:  “Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles


 


About the Simsbury Free Library

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The Simsbury Free Library (the Simsbury Genealogical and Historical Research Library) opened on the second floor of the Hopmeadow District School in 1874.  In 1890, the Library’s collection was moved to its present location at 749 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury.  Today the Simsbury Free Library (SFL) seeks to promote interest in genealogy and history by providing access to research material and expertise, artifacts, and educational and cultural programs.  It seeks to help patrons connect with the past and to learn from and be inspired by those who have gone before them.  The SFL provides a relaxed setting in which people can pursue family research history at their own pace.  For everyone from seasoned genealogy veterans to beginners, the SFL has the staff and resources necessary to help visitors develop the skills required to create family trees, search local histories, look up census records, explore vital records, etc.  


The Simsbury Free Library – the Gracious Yellow Lady – is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. as well as by appointment.  For more information, visit www.simsburyfreelibrary.org or call (860) 408-1336.

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