Author Kate Clifford Larson to Speak at Marlborough Library

From the Friends of the Marlborough Public Library:

The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library’s Alison Grice, Director of the Friends “2015-2016 McConnell Author/Celebrity Series #33”, has announced that on Wednesday, April 13th at 7 p.m. Kate Clifford Larson, author of three critically acclaimed biographies, will be interviewed by host of the author series Hank Phillippi Ryan. Kate has been a consultant and interpretive specialist for numerous museum and public history initiatives focusing on the lives and contributions of women in the making of our national identity. Larson's biographies include: Rosemary, The Hidden Kennedy Daughter (2015); Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero (2003); and The Assassin’s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln (2008)

In her book Rosemary, The Hidden Kennedy Daughter to be discussed, Kate states that Rosemary’s life has always been a small side story to the larger drama of the Kennedy family in the scores of books written about them. This is the first full length biography that puts Rosemary – an intellectually disabled child in a household of overachievers - at the core of that incredible family story. Says Kate, “By placing her at the center of the narrative, I was able to see the family in a different light – particularly her parents, Rose and Joe. Their attempt to raise Rosemary to 'fit in' with the rest of her more capable siblings is both tragic and inspiring. It is clear, however, that the very existence of Rosemary deeply and profoundly affected the lives of all the Kennedys.

"The actions and decisions made by them take on a different meaning when you look at them through Rosemary’s eyes. Rosemary was, in many ways, an enchanting, typical girl of her time. Several of her letters, written during her teen years, reveal a young girl delighting in her social life - being with her girlfriends, getting her hair and nails done, relishing new clothes, going to the movies, and enjoying the attention of boys. She was a debutante and was presented to the king and queen of England when her father was ambassador. Her preference for a social life over school worried her parents, though. She was strikingly beautiful, and very trusting, so they feared for her safety. When I started this book project, a collection of Rose Kennedy’s diaries, letters, and scrapbooks had recently been opened to the public at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

"Over the next several years, more of that collection, and the papers of Joseph P. Kennedy, were made available. The two collections contain many letters to and from Rosemary, as well as scores of documents related to her education, treatment, and the family struggles to disguise her disabilities and hide her from the public. The records reveal the remarkable lengths Rosemary’s parents went to cure her, and their sometimes selfish motives that motivated their choices for her care. My research also included an examination of the often disgraceful treatment of people with intellectual and physical disabilities, and mental illness, during the early to mid 20th century. Women suffered the most at the hands of an uncaring public and a dehumanizing institutional system and medical establishment.

"Placing Rosemary at the center of this story also shed light on her mother’s belief systems – as a devout Catholic and a woman struggling to limit her own aspirations in support of her husband – and how that shaped the way Rosemary was treated. I was also fortunate to have access to private papers and photographs.”

Rosemary, the Hidden Kennedy Daughter reveals a different perspective on the Kennedys, one that places Rosemary at the center of a dynamic family narrative where she belongs. Rosemary’s story still resonates today because it shows us, on the one hand, how much we as aculture have evolved in regards to the education, treatment, and accommodation of people with disabilities and mental illness; and on the other hand, the struggles that the disabled and their families still face. Rosemary’s life was marred by horrific tragedy, and it is within that story of heartbreak and pain that readers will find an enduring image of a loving young woman who changed her family forever.

Dr. Larson holds two degrees from Simmons College, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire. She lives in Winchester, Massachusetts.

About Hank Phillippi Ryan

This is Hank’s second year as Host of The Friends McConnell Author/Celebrity Series after having appeared at two previous Friends Author/Celebrity Series as Guest Author. The Friends are indeed honored to have Hank appear as Host and would like to express our distinct gratitude and thanks to her. Hank is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate. She’s won 33 EMMYs, 13 Edward R. Murrow awards and dozens of other honors for her groundbreaking journalism. A bestselling author of eight mystery novels to date - 4 in the Jane Ryland series, and 4 in the Charlotte McNally series, as well as many short stories - Ryan has won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction. These include five Agathas, the Anthony, Daphne, Macavity, and, for The Other Woman, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. National reviews have called her a “master at crafting suspenseful mysteries” and “a superb and gifted storyteller.”

Her 2013 novel, The Wrong Girl, won both the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and the Daphne Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, and is a seven-week Boston Globe bestseller. Truth Be Told is the Agatha Award winner for Best Contemporary Novel, an Anthony Award nominee and a Library Journal best book of 2014. Ryan also won a second Agatha Award in 2015 for Best Nonfiction, as editor of Writes of Passage, an anthology of essays by mystery authors, which was also honored with a Macavity Award and Anthony Award.

Ryan’s newest novel, What You See, is a RT Book Reviews Top Pick for “Exceptional suspense!” and received a starred review from Library Journal, which raves, “Mystery readers get ready: you will find yourself racing to the finish.” What You See is now also a Library Journal Best of 2015 and will be for sale at each event.

Note: Hank’s Charlotte McNally series will be re-launched in 2016 in case you missed them previously – Prime Time, Face Time, Air Time, and Drive Time! Hank is a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime. Visit her online at HankPhillippiRyan.com, on Twitter @HankPRyan and Facebook at Hank Phillippi Ryan.

The Author Series programs are funded and sponsored in part by grants from the Ezra Cutting Trust-- Bank of American Trustee; the Marlborough Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; The Friends Memorial Fund; the Brigham Family Trust and a Gift from the Cumming’s Properties in Honor of Ginger Ryan. Major Media Sponsor once again will be the MetroWest Daily News and the Marlborough Enterprise courtesy of Gate House Media New England. Thanks to Richard Lodge, Editor-in-Chief of the MetroWest Daily News and Marlborough Enterprise and Kristen Surman of Gate House Media New England for their assistance in making the Series possible. Thanks to Dan Guindon, General Manager, and Mike Lawton of WMCT-TV Channel 8-Marlborough for the taping of the Series and airing the programs on Channel 8.

This author series program is the third of four programs for the 2015-2016 Season. The fourth and final one will be presented on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. Please watch for the announcements of this program marking another great Author/Celebrity Series—the 33rd year of presenting these programs. For further information on the Author Series, please call 617-893-8472/413-648-9663 or email: alisongrice48@gmail.com or rajohnson736@gmail.com or go on-line to: mpl-riends.org. or Facebook: Friends of the Marlborough Public Library.