Book Discussion Group Schedule

Pemberville Library Book Discussion Group Schedule 2008-2009
Pemberville Library Community Room 7:30 p.m.

The Pale Companion by Philip Gooden Discussion Date: Mar. 17, 2009

Midsummer 1601. Nick Revill and his fellow actors in the Chamberlain's Men are journeying across the Wiltshire Downs for a country-house presentation of his friend and mentor Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. But what should be a pleasant, well-paid jaunt to celebrate a noble wedding gets worse and worse, with a sinister arranged marriage, a possible suicide, and finally a case of outright murder against an ancient backdrop of Stonehenge.

This is about the most fun you can have reading a historical mystery. There is an insider hero who is witty without being overwrought; the wealth of fascinating historical, architectural, and literary bits are delivered seamlessly; and the plot is as bloody as any tragedy concocted by Shakespeare or Marlowe.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson Discussion Date: Apr. 21, 2009

Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

Nightingales by Gillian Gill Discussion Date: May 19, 2009

What Florence Nightingale--the legendary Lady with the Lamp--did for the wounded and suffering British soldiers in Crimea has long secured her place in the history books. But what she did within the circle of her own family has remained largely hidden from view. Until now. Informing careful scholarship with imaginative insight, a distinguished biographer brings to life the entire gifted but perplexing Nightingale family.