Folger's Virtual Book Club
Join us for an upcoming program!
Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
Folger Book Club: Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Folger Book Club: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Catch-up with previous sessions
Edith Holler by Edward Carey
October 2024
The witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse–and the mysterious figure who threatens the theater’s very survival
The year is 1901. England’s beloved queen has died, and her aging son has finally taken the throne. In the eastern city of Norwich, bright and inquisitive young Edith Holler spends her days among the boisterous denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave its confines. Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, she decides to write a play of her own: a stage adaptation of the legend of Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy known as Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar, imposing woman named Margaret Unthank, heir to the actual Beetle Spread fortune, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play–the one thing that’s truly hers–from the newcomer’s sinister designs.
Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by the author’s trademark fantastical illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control–and to reveal inconvenient truths about the way children are used.
About 'Edith Holler'
Introductory information on the October 2024 Folger Book Club selection, Edith Holler by Edward Carey.
'Edith Holler' Resource Guide
To prepare for Folger Book Club’s October discussion of Edith Holler by Edward Carey, we have pulled together a list of resources related to theatrical performance and childhood.
Collection Connections: 'Edith Holler' by Edward Carey
We revisit Rachel B. Dankert’s October 2024 presentation as part of our discussion of Edward Carey’s Edith Holler.
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
September 2024
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer.
Through Anna’s eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.
As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.
As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a “year of wonders.”
Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history.
About 'Year of Wonders'
Introductory information on the September 2024 Folger Book Club selection, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
'Year of Wonders' Resource Guide
To prepare for our September 5 discussion of Geraldine Brooks’s Year of Wonders, we have pulled together a list of resources related to plague in early modern England.
Collection Connections: 'Year of Wonders' by Geraldine Brooks
Beatrice Bradley revisits her September 2024 presentation on Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
August 2024
The Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries brings us Birnam Wood, a gripping thriller of high drama and kaleidoscopic insight into what drives us to survive.
Birnam Wood is on the move . . .
A landslide has closed the Korowai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, cutting off the town of Thorndike and leaving a sizable farm abandoned. The disaster presents an opportunity for Birnam Wood, an undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic guerrilla gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice. For years, the group has struggled to break even. To occupy the farm at Thorndike would mean a shot at solvency at last.
But the enigmatic American billionaire Robert Lemoine also has an interest in the place: he has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker, or so he tells Birnam’s founder, Mira, when he catches her on the property. He’s intrigued by Mira, and by Birnam Wood; although they’re poles apart politically, it seems Lemoine and the group might have enemies in common. But can Birnam trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust one another?
A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. A brilliantly constructed study of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is a mesmerizing, unflinching consideration of the human impulse to ensure our own survival.
About 'Birnam Wood'
Introductory information on the August 2024 Folger Book Club selection, Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood.
'Birnam Wood' Resource Guide
To prepare for our August 1 virtual book club discussion of Eleanor Catton’s novel, explore resources related to Shakespeare and the environment.
Macbeth and the Roots of Birnam Wood
Todd Andrew Borlik revisits his August 2024 presentation on Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood.
2023/2024 Season
The Latinist by Mark Prins
June 2024
Tessa Templeton has thrived at Oxford University under the tutelage and praise of esteemed classics professor Christopher Eccles. And now, his support is the one thing she can rely on: her job search has yielded nothing, and her devotion to her work has just cost her her boyfriend, Ben. Yet shortly before her thesis defense, Tessa learns that Chris has sabotaged her career—and realizes their relationship is not at all what she believed.
Driven by what he mistakes as love for Tessa, Chris has ensured that no other institution will offer her a position, keeping her at Oxford with him. His tactics grow more invasive as he determines to prove he has her best interests at heart. Meanwhile, Tessa scrambles to undo the damage—and in the process makes a startling discovery about an obscure second-century Latin poet that could launch her into academic stardom, finally freeing her from Chris’s influence.
A contemporary reimagining of the Daphne and Apollo myth, The Latinist is a page-turning exploration of power, ambition, and the intertwining of love and obsession.
About 'The Latinist'
Introductory information on the June 2024 Folger Book Club selection, Mark Prins’s The Latinist.
'The Latinist' Resource Guide
To prepare for our June 6 virtual book club discussion, explore resources related to Shakespeare, Ovid, and mythology.
Ovid, Shakespeare, and 'The Latinist' (Part One)
We revisit the opening conversation between emma poltrack and Dr. Will Tosh as part of the June 2024 discussion of Mark Prins’s The Latinist.
Ovid, Shakespeare, and 'The Latinist' (Part Two)
The second part of the opening conversation between emma poltrack and Dr. Will Tosh as part of the June 2024 discussion of Mark Prins’s The Latinist.
The East Indian by Brinda Charry
May 2024
An exhilarating debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to arrive in Colonial America, inspired by a historical figure—“marvelous…readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi will be enthralled” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself in Jamestown, Virginia, where he and his fellow indentured servants—boys like himself, men from Africa, a mad woman from London—must work the tobacco plantations. Orphaned and afraid, Tony initially longs for home. But as he adjusts to his new environment, finding companionship and even love, he can envision a life for himself after servitude. His dream: to become a medicine man, or a physician’s assistant, an expert on roots and herbs, a dispenser of healing compounds.
Like the play that captivates him—Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream—Tony’s life is rich with oddities and hijinks, humor and tragedy. Set during the early days of English colonization in Jamestown, before servitude calcified into racialized slavery, The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historic figure and brings the world he would have encountered to vivid life. In this coming-of-age tale, narrated by a most memorable literary rascal, Charry conjures a young character sure to be beloved by readers for years to come.
About 'The East Indian'
Introductory information on the May 2024 Folger Book Club selection, Brinda Charry’s The East Indian.
'The East Indian' Resource Guide
To prepare for our May 2 virtual book club discussion, explore resources related to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and America’s early colonization.
Collection Connections: 'The East Indian' by Brinda Charry
Su Fang Ng revisits her May 2024 presentation on Brinda Charry’s The East Indian.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
April 2024
#1 New York Times bestselling YA author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.
Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.
Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.
Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.
About 'Immortal Longings'
Introductory information on the April 2024 Folger Book Club selection, bestselling YA author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
'Immortal Longings' Resource Guide
Resources related to Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong.
Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel
March 2024
In this haunting, groundbreaking, historical novel, Danielle Daniel imagines the lives of her ancestors in the Algonquin territories of the 1600s, a story inspired by her family link to a girl murdered near Trois-Rivières in the early days of French settlement.
Marie, an Algonquin woman of the Weskarini Deer Clan, lost her first husband and her children to an Iroquois raid. In the aftermath of another lethal attack, her chief begs her to remarry for the sake of the clan. Marie is a healer who honours the ways of her people, and Pierre, the green-eyed ex-soldier from France who wants her for his bride, is not the man she would choose. But her people are dwindling, wracked by white men’s diseases and nearly starving every winter as the game retreats away from the white settlements. If her chief believes such a marriage will cement their alliance with the French against the Iroquois and the British, she feels she has no choice. Though she does it reluctantly, and with some fear–Marie is trading the memory of the man she loved for a man she doesn’t understand at all, and whose devout Catholicism blinds him to the ways of her people.
This beautiful, powerful novel brings to life women who have literally fallen through the cracks of settler histories. Especially Jeanne, the first child born of the new marriage, neither white nor Weskarini, but caught between worlds. As she reaches adolescence, it becomes clear she is two-spirited. In her mother’s culture, she would have been considered blessed, her nature a sign of special wisdom. But to the settlers of New France, and even to her own father, Jeanne is unnatural, sinful–a woman to be shunned, and worse.
And so, with the poignant story of Jeanne, Danielle Daniel imagines her way into the heart and mind of a woman at the origin of the long history of violence against Indigenous women and the deliberate, equally violent, disruption of First Nations culture–opening a door long jammed shut, so all of us can enter.
About 'Daughters of the Deer'
Introductory information on the March 2024 Folger Book Club selection, which imagines the author’s ancestors in the Algonquin territories of the 1600s.
'Daughters of the Deer' Resource Guide
Resources related to Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
February 2024
A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralded the arrival of Yaa Gyasi as a major new voice in contemporary fiction.
Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.
Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi’s magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control.
About 'Homegoing'
Introductory information on the February 2024 Folger Book Club selection, a generational story spanning centuries.
'Homegoing' Resource Guide
Resources related to Shakespeare and Black history in preparation for our February book club discussion of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
Collection Connections: 'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyasi
Ivie Orobaton revisits her February 2024 presentation on Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, the first of a two-part series.
Collection Connections: 'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyasi, Pt. 2
Ivie Orobaton revisits her February 2024 presentation on Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, the second of a two-part series.
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
December 2023
The beloved New York Times bestseller from acclaimed author Eleanor Brown about three sisters who love each other, but just don’t happen to like each other very much.
Three sisters have returned to their childhood home, reuniting the eccentric Andreas family. Here, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can’t solve) and TV is something other people watch. Their father—a professor of Shakespeare who speaks almost exclusively in verse—named them after the Bard’s heroines. It’s a lot to live up to.
The sisters each have a hard time communicating with their parents and their lovers, but especially with one another. What can the shy homebody eldest sister, the fast-living middle child, and the bohemian youngest sibling have in common? Only that none has found life to be what was expected; and now, faced with their parents’ frailty and their own personal disappointments, not even a book can solve what ails them…
About 'The Weird Sisters'
Introductory information on the December 2023 Folger Book Club selection, a family story threaded with Shakespearean references.
'The Weird Sisters' Resource Guide
Resources related to early modern family dynamics in preparation for our December book club discussion of The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.
Collection Connections: 'The Weird Sisters' by Eleanor Brown
Elizabeth DeBold revisits her December 2023 presentation on Eleanor Brown’s The Weird Sisters, a family story threaded with Shakespearean references.
Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit
November 2023
From the bestselling author of The Wives of Los Alamos comes the riveting story of a stranger’s arrival in the fledgling colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts—and a crime that shakes the divided community to its core.
Ten years after the Mayflower pilgrims arrived on rocky, unfamiliar soil, Plymouth is not the land its residents had imagined. Seemingly established on a dream of religious freedom, in reality the town is led by fervent puritans who prohibit the residents from living, trading, and worshipping as they choose. By the time an unfamiliar ship, bearing new colonists, appears on the horizon one summer morning, Anglican outsiders have had enough.
With gripping, immersive details and exquisite prose, TaraShea Nesbit reframes the story of the pilgrims in the previously unheard voices of two women of very different status and means. She evokes a vivid, ominous Plymouth, populated by famous and unknown characters alike, each with conflicting desires and questionable behavior.
Suspenseful and beautifully wrought, Beheld is about a murder and a trial, and the motivations—personal and political—that cause people to act in unsavory ways. It is also an intimate portrait of love, motherhood, and friendship that asks: Whose stories get told over time, who gets believed—and subsequently, who gets punished?
About 'Beheld'
Introductory information on the November 2023 Folger Book Club selection, which looks at the first recorded murder in the Plymouth colony.
'Beheld' Resource Guide
Resources related to colonial America in preparation for our November Book Club discussion of Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit.
Collection Connections: 'Beheld' by TaraShea Nesbit
Rachel B. Dankert revisits her November 2023 presentation on TaraShea Nesbit’s Beheld and the experience of early colonists in America.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
October 2023
In Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion’s New York Times bestselling novel that inspired a major film, a zombie returns to humanity through an unlikely encounter with love.
“R” is having a no-life crisis–he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.
And then he meets a girl.
First as his captive, then his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl–although she looks delicious–he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.
About 'Warm Bodies'
Introductory information on the October 2023 Folger Book Club selection, a Romeo and Juliet adaptation set in the zombie apocalypse.
'Warm Bodies' Resource Guide
Resources related to Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare and horror in preparation for our October Book Club discussion of Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.
Isaac Marion’s 'Warm Bodies': Containing and Curing Plague
Dr. Kathleen Miller revisits her October 2023 presentation on Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies and its connection to early modern plague practices.
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
September 2023
The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian—who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.
But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
About 'The Personal Librarian'
Introductory information on the September 2023 Folger Book Club selection which explores the remarkable life of Belle da Costa Greene.
'The Personal Librarian' Resource Guide
Resources related to Belle da Costa Greene and the collections of the Morgan and Folger Shakespeare Libraries in preparation for our September Book Club discussion of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
'The Personal Librarian,' the Morgan, and the Folger
The first part of our September 2023 conversation with Erica Ciallela and Sara Schliep as part of our discussion of The Personal Librarian.
'The Personal Librarian,' the Morgan, and the Folger (Part 2)
The second part of our September 2023 conversation with Erica Ciallela and Sara Schliep as part of our discussion of The Personal Librarian.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
August 2023
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall is “a darkly brilliant reimagining of life under Henry VIII. . . . Magnificent.” (The Boston Globe).
About 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel
Introductory information on the August 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Hilary Mantel’s Book prize-winning novel of Thomas Cromwell.
'Wolf Hall' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to Henry VIII in preparation for our August Book Club discussion of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.
Mantel’s Wolf Hall and the Fictions of Portraiture
We revisit the August 2023 presentation by Jean Marie Christensen on Hilary Mantel’s novel, Wolf Hall.
2022/23 Season
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
June 2023
“One of the best mysteries of all time” (The New York Times)—Josephine Tey recreates one of history’s most famous—and vicious—crimes in her classic bestselling novel, a must read for connoisseurs of fiction, now with a new introduction by Robert Barnard.
Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower.
The Daughter of Time is an ingeniously plotted, beautifully written, and suspenseful tale, a supreme achievement from one of mystery writing’s most gifted masters.
About 'The Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey
Introductory information on the June 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Josephine Tey’s classic mystery exploring Richard III.
'The Daughter of Time' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to Richard III in preparation for our June Book Club discussion of The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.
'The Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey
Collection Connections:
'The Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey
We revisit the June 2023 presentation by Dr. Katherine Schaap Williams on Richard III and Josephine Tey’s novel, The Daughter of Time.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
May 2023
From the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom.
These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.
Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
About 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' by Gabrielle Zevin
Introductory information on the May 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Gabrielle Zevin’s exploration of gaming, grief, and collaboration.
'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to Shakespeare and digital technologies to accompany our discussion of Gabrielle Zevin’s novel.
Shakespeare, videogames, and Gabrielle Zevin’s 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow'
We revisit the May 2023 presentation by Dr. Erin Sullivan about Shakespeare and digital technologies, part of our discussion of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
Gaming and grieving with Shakespeare: Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel puts the ghostliness in gameplay
Sophia Richardson explores how Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel about video games, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” is also a book about Shakespeare.
A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein
March 2023
An Elizabethan espionage thriller in which playwright Christopher Marlowe spies on Mary, Queen of Scots while navigating the perils of politics, theater, romance—and murder.
England, 1585. In Kit Marlowe’s last year at Cambridge, he is approached by Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster offering an unorthodox career opportunity: going undercover to intercept a Catholic plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots on Elizabeth’s throne. Spying on Queen Mary turns out to be more than Kit bargained for, but his salary allows him to mount his first play, and over the following years he becomes the toast of London’s raucous theater scene. But when Kit finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the world of espionage and treason, he realizes everything he’s worked so hard to attain—including the trust of the man he loves—could vanish in an instant.
Pairing modern language with period detail, Allison Epstein brings Elizabeth’s lavish court, Marlowe’s colorful theater troupe, and the squalor of sixteenth-century London to vivid, teeming life. At the center of the action is Kit himself—an irrepressible, irreverent force of nature.
About 'A Tip for the Hangman' by Allison Epstein
Introductory information on the March 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Allison Epstein’s exploration of Elizabethan London and espionage.
'A Tip for the Hangman' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to espionage and Christopher “Kit” Marlowe to accompany our discussion of Allison Epstein’s novel.
Collection Connections: ‘A Tip for the Hangman' by Allison Epstein
We revisit the March 2023 presentation by Abner Aldarondo about the ciphers and censorship related to A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein.
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
February 2023
In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some thirty miles northeast of Baltimore, to farm, to hide, and to bear ten children over the course of the next sixteen years. Junius Booth—breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one—is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war. As the tenor of the world shifts, the Booths emerge from their hidden lives to cement their place as one of the country’s leading theatrical families. But behind the curtains of the many stages they have graced, multiple scandals, family triumphs, and criminal disasters begin to take their toll, and the solemn siblings of John Wilkes Booth are left to reckon with the truth behind the destructively specious promise of an early prophecy.
About 'Booth' by Karen Joy Fowler
Introductory information on the February 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Karen Joy Fowler’s intimate portrayal of an American family whose celebrity turned to infamy,
'Booth' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to Folger resources related to 19th-century Shakespeare performance and the Booth family to accompany the February 2023 book club discussion of Booth.
Collection Connections: ‘Booth' by Karen Joy Fowler
David McKenzie shares Folger collection items related to the Booth family and 19th-century performance as depicted in Booth by Karen Joy Fowler.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
December 2022
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
About 'Black Cake' by Charmaine Wilkerson
Introductory information on this multi-generational family story, the December 2022 Folger Book Club selection.
'Black Cake' Resource Guide
Folger resources related to food and food pathways to accompany the December 2022 book club discussion of Black Cake.
Collection Connections: ‘Black Cake' by Charmaine Wilkerson
We revisit the December 2022 presentation by Brittany Merritt Nash about sugar production and its relationship to Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson
November 2022
Ramón Montez always achieves his goals. Whether that means collecting Ivy League degrees or growing his father’s fast-food empire, nothing sets Ramón off course. So when the sexy señorita who kissed him on the Day of the Dead runs off into the night with his heart, he determines to do whatever it takes to find her again. Celebrity chef Julieta Campos has sacrificed everything to save her sea-to-table taqueria from closing. To her horror, she discovers that her new landlord is none other than the magnetic mariachi she hooked up with on Día de los Muertos. Even worse, it was his father who stole her mother’s taco recipe decades ago. Julieta has no choice but to work with Ramón, the man who destroyed her life’s work—and the one man who tempts and inspires her. As San Diego’s outraged community protests against the Taco King takeover and the divide between their families grows, Ramón and Julieta struggle to balance the rising tensions. But Ramón knows that true love is priceless and despite all of his successes, this is the one battle he refuses to lose.
About 'Ramón and Julieta' by Alana Quintana Albertson
Introductory information on our November 2022 book club selection, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set amongst warring taco restaurants.
Resource Guide for 'Ramón and Julieta' by Alana Quintana Albertson
To prepare for our November 2022 book club discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to Romeo and Juliet and Latinx Shakespeare.
Collection Connections: ‘Ramón and Julieta’ by Alana Quintana Albertson
Katherine Gillen, Adrianna Santos, and Kathryn Vomero Santos take us through their presentation from our discussion of ‘Ramón and Julieta’ by Alana Quintana Albertson as part of the Folger’s virtual Book Club.
Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor
October 2022
Henry Irving is Victorian London’s most celebrated actor and theater impresario. He has introduced groundbreaking ideas to the theater, bringing to the stage performances that are spectacular, shocking, and always entertaining. When Irving decides to open his own London theater with the goal of making it the greatest playhouse on earth, he hires a young Dublin clerk harboring literary ambitions by the name of Bram Stoker to manage it. As Irving’s theater grows in reputation and financial solvency, he lures to his company of mummers the century’s most beloved actress, the dazzlingly talented leading lady Ellen Terry, who nightly casts a spell not only on her audiences but also on Stoker and Irving both. Bram Stoker’s extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write Dracula, the most iconic and best-selling supernatural tale ever published.
About 'Shadowplay' by Joseph O'Connor
Introductory information on our October 2022 book club selection, a peek into the Victorian theatre, Shakespearean performance, and the writing of Dracula.
Resource Guide for 'Shadowplay' by Joseph O'Connor
To prepare for our October 2022 discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to Shakespearean performance and the historical characters that appear in the novel.
Collection Connections: 'Shadowplay' by Joseph O'Connor
Held on the first Thursday of the month, the Folger’s virtual book club is free and open to all. Here, we revisit the items shared by Dr. Jason McElligott, Director of Marsh’s Library, on October 6, 2022 as an introduction…
Learwife by JR Thorp
September 2022
Word has come. Care-bent King Lear is dead, driven mad and betrayed. His three daughters too, broken in battle. But someone has survived: Lear’s queen. Exiled to a nunnery years ago, written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she can tell her story. Though her grief and rage may threaten to crack the earth open, she knows she must seek answers. Why was she sent away in shame and disgrace? What has happened to Kent, her oldest friend and ally? And what will become of her now, in this place of women? To find peace she must reckon with her past and make a terrible choice – one upon which her destiny, and that of the entire abbey, rests.
About 'Learwife' by J. R. Thorp
Introductory information on our September 2022 book club selection, a unique perspective on Shakespeare’s epic tragedy.
Resource Guide for 'Learwife' by J.R. Thorp
To prepare for our September 2022 book club discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to King Lear, the novel, and motherhood.
Collection Connections: 'Learwife' by J.R. Thorp
Held on the first Thursday of the month, the Folger’s virtual book club is free and open to all. Here, Dr. emma poltrack, shares items she presented on September 8, 2022 as an introduction to Learwife by J.R. Thorp.
J.R. Thorp on Learwife
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 181 A banished queen receives word that her husband and three daughters are dead. Learwife, a new novel by J.R. Thorp, picks up where Shakespeare’s King Lear leaves off: The queen is Berte, Lear’s wife and Regan,…
Excerpt: Learwife by J. R. Thorp
Picking up where Shakespeare’s King Lear ends, a new novel imagines the life of Lear’s wife, who in this telling has been banished for 15 years when she receives word of her family members’ deaths. Learwife by J.R. Thorp gives…
2021/22 Season
Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
June 2022
A high-born Nigerian goddess, who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover, longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family’s politics or be true to her heart. In her debut collection, internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from long-erased places. With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love, Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives, continents, and genres.
Words, Words, Words: 'Love in Color: Mythical Tales Around the World, Retold' by Bolu Babalola
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, June 2 with a discussion of ‘Love in Color’ by Bolu Babalola. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this collection of contemporary takes on global myths.
Resource Guide: 'Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold' by Bolu Babalola
On June 2, 2022 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion on ‘Love in Color’ by Bolu Babalola. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to mythology and Shakespeare.
Collection Connections: 'Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold' by Bolu Babalola
Dr. emma poltrack shares items she presented on June 2, 2022 as an introduction to ‘Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold’ by Bolu Babalola.
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
May 2022
Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner. Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost. When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to bring her around?
Words, Words, Words: 'Vinegar Girl' by Anne Tyler
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, May 5 with a discussion of ‘Vinegar Girl’ by Anne Tyler. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this contemporary take on Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’.
Resource Guide: 'Vinegar Girl' by Anne Tyler
On May 5, 2022 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion on ‘Vinegar Girl’ by Anne Tyler. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to the themes found in…
Collection Connections: 'Vinegar Girl' by Anne Tyler
Elizabeth DeBold, Assistant Curator of Collections, shares items she presented on May 5, 2022 as an introduction to ‘Vinegar Girl’ by Anne Tyler.
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
April 2022
On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it. A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras. But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent.
Words, Words, Words: 'If We Were Villains' by M. L. Rio
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, April 7 with a discussion of ‘If We Were Villains’ by M.L. Rio. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this twisty thriller about Shakespeare students at…
Resource Guide: 'If We Were Villains' by M. L. Rio
On April 7, 2022 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to the novel,…
Collection Connections: 'If We Were Villains' by M. L. Rio
Elizabeth DeBold, Assistant Curator of Collections, shares items she presented on April 7, 2022 as an introduction to ‘If We Were Villains’ by M. L. Rio.
A night at Hamlet's castle, followed by a debut novel
This debut novel by M.L. Rio takes place at a fiercely competitive school where the acting students only perform Shakespeare.
The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips
March 2022
The year is 1601. Queen Elizabeth is dying, childless. The nervous kingdom has no heir. It is a capital crime even to think that Elizabeth will ever die. Potential successors secretly maneuver to be in position when the inevitable arrives. The leading candidate is King James VI of Scotland, but there is a problem. The queen’s spymasters—hardened veterans of a long war on terror and religious extremism—fear that James is not what he appears. He has every reason to claim he is a Protestant, but if he secretly shares his family’s Catholicism, then the last forty years of religious war will have been for nothing, and a bloodbath will ensue. With time running out, London confronts a seemingly impossible question: What does James truly believe? It falls to Geoffrey Belloc, a secret warrior from the hottest days of England’s religious battles, to devise a test to discover the true nature of King James’s soul. Belloc enlists Mahmoud Ezzedine, a Muslim physician left behind by the last diplomatic visit from the Ottoman Empire, as his undercover agent. The perfect man for the job, Ezzedine is the ultimate outsider, stranded on this cold, wet, and primitive island. He will do almost anything to return home to his wife and son.
Words, Words, Words: 'The King at the Edge of the World' by Arthur Phillips
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, March 3 with a discussion of ‘The King at the Edge of the World’ by Arthur Phillips. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this tale of espionage and…
Resource Guide: 'The King at the Edge of the World' by Arthur Phillips
On March 3, 2022 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related…
Collection Connections: 'The King at the Edge of the World' by Arthur Phillips
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on March 3, 2022 as an introduction to ‘The King at the Edge of the World’ by Arthur Phillips.
The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
February 2022
Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. When Helen is summoned by a former student to view a cache of newly discovered seventeenth-century Jewish documents, she enlists the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents’ scribe, the elusive “Aleph.” Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries–and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.
Words, Words, Words: 'The Weight of Ink' by Rachel Kadish
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, February 3 with a discussion of Rachel Kadish’s ‘The Weight of Ink.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this time-traveling scholarly mystery.
Resource Guide: 'The Weight of Ink' by Rachel Kadish
On February 3, 2022 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of ‘The Weight of Ink’ by Rachel Kadish. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to the novel, religion…
Collection Connections: 'The Weight of Ink' by Rachel Kadish
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on February 3, 2022 as an introduction to ‘The Weight of Ink’ by Rachel Kadish.
All’s Well by Mona Awad
December 2021
Miranda Fitch’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating, chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now she’s on the verge of losing her job as a college theater director. Determined to put on Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, the play that promised, and cost, her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instead. Miranda sees her chance at redemption slip through her fingers. That’s when she meets three strange benefactors who have an eerie knowledge of Miranda’s past and a tantalizing promise for her future: one where the show goes on, her rebellious students get what’s coming to them, and the invisible, doubted pain that’s kept her from the spotlight is made known.
Words, Words, Words: 'All's Well' by Mona Awad
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Monday, December 6 with a discussion of Mona Awad’s ‘All’s Well.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this dark mash-up of Shakespeare’s ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ and ‘Macbeth.’
Resource Guide: 'All's Well' by Mona Awad
On December 6, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of All’s Well by Mona Awad. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to the novel and the plays…
Collection Connections: 'All's Well' by Mona Awad
Elizabeth DeBold, Assistant Curator of Collections, shares items she presented on December 6, 2021 as an introduction to ‘All’s Well’ by Mona Awad.
Excerpt – ‘All's Well’ by Mona Awad
Mona Awad’s new, darkly funny novel All’s Well tells the story of a theater professor who is convinced that staging All’s Well That Ends Well will remedy all of her woes. Along the way, she meets three strange benefactors with…
Mona Awad on All's Well
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 173 In her new novel, All’s Well, author Mona Awad combines elements of All’s Well That Ends Well, Macbeth, and the 1999 movie Election to tell the story of Miranda Fitch, a theater professor with a mutinous…
The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
November 2021
In a bravura feat of storytelling, Mark Haddon calls upon narratives ancient and modern to tell the story of Angelica, a young woman trapped in an abusive relationship with her father. When a young man named Darius discovers their secret, he is forced to escape on a boat bound for the Mediterranean. To his surprise he finds himself travelling backwards over two thousand years to a world of pirates and shipwrecks, of plagues and miracles and angry gods. Moving seamlessly between the past and the present, Haddon conjures the worlds of Angelica and her would-be savior in thrilling fashion. As profound as it is entertaining, The Porpoise is a stirring and endlessly inventive novel from one of our finest storytellers.
Words, Words, Words: 'The Porpoise' by Mark Haddon
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, November 4 with a discussion of Mark Haddon’s ‘The Porpoise.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this innovative reimagining of Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles.’
Resource Guide: 'The Porpoise' by Mark Haddon
On November 4, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of ‘The Porpoise’ by Mark Haddon. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to the novel and the themes,…
Collection Connections: 'The Porpoise' by Mark Haddon
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on November 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘The Porpoise’ by Mark Haddon.
How Pericles Inspired Mark Haddon's novel The Porpoise
Shakespeare Unlimited:Episode 131 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time author Mark Haddon’s books take twists and turns that sometimes seem to only make sense in the context of his stories. Shakespeare’s Pericles takes twists and turns that…
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
October 2021
The story begins in 1618, in the German duchy of Württemberg. Plague is spreading. The Thirty Years’ War has begun, and fear and suspicion are in the air throughout the Holy Roman Empire. In the small town of Leonberg, Katharina Kepler is accused of being a witch. When the deranged and insipid Ursula Reinbold (or as Katharina calls her, the Werewolf) accuses Katharina of offering her a bitter, witchy drink that has made her ill, Katharina is in trouble. Her scientist son must turn his attention from the music of the spheres to the job of defending his mother.
Words, Words, Words: 'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch' by Rivka Galchen
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, October 7 with a discussion of Rivka Galchen’s ‘Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch.’
Resource Guide: 'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch' by Rivka Galchen
The Folger continues its Virtual Book Club on October 7, 2021 with ‘Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch’ by Rivka Galchen. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to witchcraft and…
Collection Connections: 'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch' by Rivka Galchen
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares items she presented on October 7, 2021 as an introduction to ‘Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch’ by Rivka Galchen.
We That Are Young by Preti Taneja
September 2021
When a billionaire hotelier and political operator attempts to pit his three daughters against one another, a brutal struggle for primacy begins in this modern-day take on Shakespeare’s King Lear. Set in contemporary India, where rich men are gods while farmers starve and water is fast running out, We That Are Young is a story about power, status, and the love of a megalomaniac father. A searing exploration of human fallibility, Preti Taneja’s remarkable novel reveals the fragility of the human heart—and its inevitable breaking point.
Words, Words, Words: 'We That Are Young' by Preti Taneja
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, September 2 with a discussion of Preti Taneja’s ‘We That Are Young.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this rich retelling of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear.’
Resource Guide: 'We That Are Young' by Preti Taneja
On September 2, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of ‘We That Are Young’ by Preti Taneja. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare, ‘King Lear,’…
Collection Connections: 'We That Are Young'
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on September 2, 2021 as an introduction to ‘We That Are Young’ by Preti Taneja.
The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake
August 2021
The Larkin family isn’t just lucky-they persevere. At least that’s what Violet and her younger brother, Sam, were always told. When the Lyric sank off the coast of Maine, their great-great-great grandmother didn’t drown like the rest of the passengers. No, Fidelia swam to shore, fell in love, and founded Lyric, Maine, the town Violet and Sam returned to every summer. But wrecks seem to run in the family: Tall, funny, musical Violet can’t stop partying with the wrong people. And, one beautiful summer day, brilliant, sensitive Sam attempts to take his own life. Desperate to make amends, Violet embarks on a wildly ambitious mission: locate the Lyric, lain hidden in a watery grave for over a century. Epic, funny, and sweepingly romantic, The Last True Poets of the Sea is about the strength it takes to swim up from a wreck.
Words, Words, Words: 'The Last True Poets of the Sea' by Julia Drake
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, August 5 with a discussion of Julia Drake’s ‘The Last True Poets of the Sea.’
Resource Guide: 'The Last True Poets of the Sea' by Julia Drake
On August 5, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of ‘The Last True Poets of the Sea’ by Julia Drake. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to…
Collection Connections: 'The Last True Poets of the Sea' by Julia Drake
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares items she presented on August 5, 2021 as an introduction to ‘The Last True Poets of the Sea’ by Julia Drake.
2020/21 Season
Sweet Sorrow by David Nichols
June 2021
Sixteen-year-old Charlie Lewis is the kind of boy you don’t remember in the school photograph. But when Fran Fisher bursts into his life, despite himself, Charlie begins to hope. The price of hope, it seems, is Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet learned and performed in a theater troupe over the course of a summer. Poignant, funny, enchanting, devastating, Sweet Sorrow is a tragicomedy about the rocky path to adulthood and the confusion of family life, a celebration of the reviving power of friendship and that brief, searing explosion of first love that can only be looked at directly after it has burned out.
Words, Words, Words: 'Sweet Sorrow' by David Nicholls
The Folger’s virtual book club continues on Thursday, June 3 with a discussion of David Nicholls’ ‘Sweet Sorrow.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this tragicomic novel the Washington Post called “a tale of first love that hits all…
Resource Guide: 'Sweet Sorrow' by David Nicholls
On June 3, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion of ‘Sweet Sorrow’ by David Nicholls. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ and…
Collection Connections: 'Sweet Sorrow' by David Nicholls
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares items she presented on June 3, 2021 as an introduction to Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls.
Circe by Madeline Miller
May 2021
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology. With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.
Words, Words Words: 'Circe' by Madeline Miller
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, May 6 with a discussion of Madeline Miller’s Circe. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this award-winning novel about a fascinating figure from…
Resource Guide: 'Circe' by Madeline Miller
On May 6, 2021 the Folger hosts its Virtual Book Club, featuring a discussion on ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to Shakespeare and Greek mythology.
Collection Connections: 'Circe' by Madeline Miller
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on May 6, 2021 as an introduction to Circe by Madeline Miller.
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke
April 2021
Hawke’s narrator is a young man in torment, disgusted with himself after the collapse of his marriage, still half-hoping for a reconciliation that would allow him to forgive himself and move on as he clumsily, and sometimes hilariously, tries to manage the wreckage of his personal life with whiskey and sex. What saves him is theater: in particular, the challenge of performing the role of Hotspur in a production of Henry IV under the leadership of a brilliant director, helmed by one of the most electrifying–and narcissistic–Falstaff’s of all time. Searing and raw, A Bright Ray of Darkness is a novel about shame and beauty and faith, and the moral power of art.
Words, Words, Words: ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, April 1 with a discussion of Ethan Hawke’s ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this compelling story of…
Resource Guide: 'A Bright Ray of Darkness' by Ethan Hawke
On April 1, 2021 the Folger hosts a discussion on ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ plays, the performance…
Collection Connections: 'A Bright Ray of Darkness'
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the items she presented on April 1, 2021 as an introduction to ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke.
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
March 2021
Felix is at the top of his game as artistic director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. Now he’s staging a Tempest like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, but it will also heal emotional wounds. Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge, which, after twelve years, arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison. Margaret Atwood’s innovative take on Shakespeare’s play of enchantment, retribution, and second chances leads us on an interactive, illusion-ridden journey filled with new surprises and wonders of its own.
Words, Words, Words: ‘Hag-Seed’ by Margaret Atwood
The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, March 4 with a discussion of Margaret Atwood’s ‘Hag-Seed.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this innovative retelling of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest.’
Resource Guide: ‘Hag-Seed’ by Margaret Atwood
On March 4, 2021 the Folger returns to its Virtual Book Club with ‘Hag-Seed’ by Margaret Atwood. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to this innovative retelling of ‘The Tempest.’
Collection Connections: ‘Hag-Seed’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on March 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘Hag-Seed’ by Margaret Atwood.
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
February 2021
In these pages, Laila Lalami brings us the imagined memoirs of the first Black explorer of America: Mustafa al-Zamori, called Estebanico. As he journeys across America with his Spanish companions, the Old World roles of slave and master fall away, and Estebanico remakes himself as an equal, a healer, and a remarkable storyteller. His tale illuminates the ways in which our narratives can transmigrate into history—and how storytelling can offer a chance at redemption and survival.
Words, Words, Words: ‘The Moor’s Account’
The Folger’s virtual book club returns for 2021 on Thursday, February 4 with a discussion of Laila Lalami’s ‘The Moor’s Account’. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this Pulitzer Prize-finalist.
Resource Guide: ‘The Moor’s Account’ by Laila Lalami
On February 4, 2021 the Folger returns to its Virtual Book Club with ‘The Moor’s Account’ by Laila Lalami. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to early modern exploration of the…
Collection Connections: ‘The Moor’s Account’
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares the Folger collection items she presented on February 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘The Moor’s Account’ by Laila Lalami.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
December 2020
England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young, alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on.
A luminous portrait of a marriage, a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a tender and unforgettable re-imagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, and whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down—a magnificent leap forward from one of our most gifted novelists.
Words, Words, Words: ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell
Folger Public Programs closes out our book club series for 2020 on Thursday, December 3, with a discussion of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this moving account of marriage, motherhood,…
Resource Guide: ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell
On December 3, 2020 the Folger hosts its last Virtual Book Club of 2020 with ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to Anne (Agnes) Hathaway, life in…
Collection Connections: ‘Hamnet’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on December 3, 2020 as an introduction to ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell.
Excerpt – ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet was William Shakespeare’s only son, but he died in 1596 at the age of 11. Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Hamnet, imagines a story in which a young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an…
Maggie O'Farrell on Hamnet
Anne and William Shakespeare’s son Hamnet died in 1596, when he was 11 years old. We don’t know too much more about him. But author Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, Hamnet, delves into his story and comes away with…
License to Quill by Jacopo della Quercia
November 2020
License to Quill is a page-turning James Bond-esque spy thriller starring William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe during history’s real life Gunpowder Plot. The story follows the fascinating golden age of English espionage, the tumultuous cold war gripping post-Reformation Europe, the cloak-and-dagger politics of Shakespeare’s England, and lastly, the mysterious origins of the Bard’s most haunting play: Macbeth.
Words, Words, Words: ‘License to Quill’ by Jacopo della Quercia
Folger Public Programs celebrates bonfire night with our virtual book club, Words, Words, Words. On Thursday, November 5, we will be discussing Jacopo della Quercia’s License to Quill. We’ve compiled some introductory information on this James Bond-inspired Shakespeare thriller.
Resource Guide: ‘License to Quill’ by Jacopo della Quercia
On November 5, 2020 the Folger continues its Virtual Book Club with ‘License to Quill’ by Jacopo della Quercia. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to espionage, religion, the Gunpowder Plot,…
Collection Connections: ‘License to Quill’
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares the Folger collection items she presented on November 5, 2020 as an introduction to ‘License to Quill’ by Jacopo della Quercia.
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé
October 2020
This wild and entertaining novel expands on the true story of the West Indian slave Tituba, who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, arrested in 1692, and forgotten in jail until the general amnesty for witches two years later. Maryse Condé brings Tituba out of historical silence and creates for her a fictional childhood, adolescence, and old age. She turns her into what she calls “a sort of female hero, an epic heroine, like the legendary ‘Nanny of the maroons,’” who, schooled in the sorcery and magical ritual of obeah, is arrested for healing members of the family that owns her.
Words, Words, Words: ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem’ by Maryse Condé
Folger Public Programs continues on Thursday, October 1, as we welcome friends from all around the world to discuss Maryse Condé’s ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem.’ To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this…
Resource Guide: ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem’
To prepare for the Folger’s Book Club discussion of ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem’ by Maryse Condé, we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to witchcraft, medicine, and other themes of this award-winning novel.
Collection Connections: ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on October 1, 2020 as an introduction to ‘I, Titubam Black Witch of Salem’ by Maryse Condé.
The Shakespeare Requirement by Julia Schumacher
September 2020
Now is the fall of his discontent, as Jason Fitger, newly appointed chair of the English Department of Payne University, takes arms against a sea of troubles, personal and institutional. His ex-wife is sleeping with the dean who must approve whatever modest initiatives he undertakes. The fearsome department secretary Fran clearly runs the show (when not taking in rescue parrots and dogs) and holds plenty of secrets she’s not sharing. The lavishly funded Econ Department keeps siphoning off English’s meager resources and has taken aim at its remaining office space. And Fitger’s attempt to get a mossbacked and antediluvian Shakespeare scholar to retire backfires spectacularly when the press concludes that the Bard is being kicked to the curricular curb.
Words, Words, Words: ‘The Shakespeare Requirement’ by Julie Schumacher
On Thursday, September 3, we will be welcoming friends from all around the world to discuss Julie Schumacher’s The Shakespeare Requirement. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this satiric look at the follies and…
Resource Guide: ‘The Shakespeare Requirement’ by Julie Schumacher
To prepare for our discussion on ‘The Shakespeare Requirement,’ we have pulled together a list of Folger resources related to Shakespeare in education that would earn even Professor Cassovan’s seal of approval—including some pop quizzes for extra credit!
Collection Connections: ‘The Shakespeare Requirement’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on September 3, 2020 as an introduction to ‘The Shakespeare Requirement’ by Julie Schumacher.
Excerpt - 'The Shakespeare Requirement' by Julie Schumacher
In her new novel “The Shakespeare Requirement,” Julie Schumacher continues her satirical commentary on the humanities in academia.
Julie Schumacher on The Shakespeare Requirement
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 109 Should college students be required to study Shakespeare? As American universities examine the role of the liberal arts and humanities in our society, what will—and what should—happen to the Bard’s place in English curricula? The Shakespeare…
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
August 2020
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as The Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
Words, Words, Words: ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel
Kicking off next Thursday, we will be welcoming friends from all around the world to discuss Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven as part of a new virtual book club. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory…
Resource Guide: ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel
On August 6, 2020, Folger launched its new Virtual Book Club with a discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s ‘Station Eleven.’ To dig deeper into the themes discussed, or to inspire your own book club, we have pulled together a…
Collection Connections: ‘Station Eleven’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the items she presented to the Folger virtual book club on August 6, 2020 as an introduction to ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel.
“The world unwinding”: Station Eleven, Shakespeare, and an artist’s-eye view of apocalypse
During the covid-19 pandemic, two methods of escape for me have been Shakespeare and depictions of fictional catastrophes, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned that a novel that combines both — Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven…