Just as my Edith Wharton biography was going to press, a stash of letters from Edith to her governess (and later secretary) was discovered. How can I get my hands on those? I wondered. The answer wasn’t long in coming. In April of 2011, when I spoke at The Mount, I met Irene Goldman-Price who… [Read More]
Jane Thurmer Wins a Signed Copy of “The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton”
May 9, 2012 By
Congratulations to Jane Thurmer, the winner of our March Women’s History Month give-away! Jane will receive a signed copy of The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton (Clarion 2010), Connie’s YA biography about the iconic writer who would be 150 years-old this year! Thank you, Jane, and everyone who entered.
Writer’s Retreat
April 14, 2012 By
In February, I drove east for eleven hours, through Ohio and the very mountains of Pennsylvania I used to call home, to the town of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. I turned left onto the property of the family that created the magazine Highlights for Children and pulled up to a small cabin with two twin beds, a… [Read More]
Just Check the Monitor’s Manifest!
March 19, 2012 By
This month marks the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Monitor back in 1862, less than a year after its launch. As the most recent newsletter of the John Ericsson Society New York (JESNY) points out, the Monitor had a short life but left a long legacy, with Monitor class vessels actively deployed… [Read More]
A Response to Jonathan Franzen: Edith Wharton Was Hard (But Not Impossible) to Like
March 12, 2012 By
Responses to Jonathan Franzen’s New Yorker article “A Rooting Interest: Edith Wharton and the problem of sympathy” are flying fast and furious. He claims Edith Wharton is just plain hard to like as a person – hard to sympathize with as he puts it – and after spending years in her company while writing her… [Read More]
Win a Signed Copy of “The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton”!
March 7, 2012 By
You can win a signed copy of “The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton” just by liking Connie’s Facebook page. It’s March and in the spirit of Women’s History Month and this year’s theme – Women’s Education, Women’s Empowerment – I am giving away a signed copy of The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton (Clarion 2010). 2012 is also… [Read More]
Leif Brisfjord Won a Signed Copy of “When Esther Morris Headed West”!
March 7, 2012 By
Congratulations to Leif Brisfjord, the winner of our February give-away, a signed copy of Connie’s book about the first female US judge, When Esther Morris Headed West (Holiday House) by “liking” Connie’s Facebook page. Leif is President of the John Ericsson Society in New York City. Ericsson was the inventor of the ironclad ship the… [Read More]
A Visit to St. Paul’s School
February 29, 2012 By
Late on a February Tuesday morning, I packed a pile of books and papers into the back of my car and drove south and then east along some winding Indiana roads that led me further and further into the country. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I arrived at one of the most charming little… [Read More]