How I Discovered That My Great-Grandmother Was The Quack's Daughter

Local author and historian Greta Nettleton will give an illustrated talk of her upcoming book, The Quack's Daughter - The Private Life of a Victorian Girl at Vassar, in the Nyack Library Meeting Room featuring pianist Miki Sawada.

An old family trunk rescued from the landfill spills all the secrets of the author's great-grandmother, who was sent east to Vassar College from Davenport Iowa in 1884 to elevate her disreputable family's social status.  A piano prodigy, Cora Keck was raised by a stay-at-home father while her mother, Mrs. Dr. Rebecca J. Keck, earned a fortune as a notorious patent medicine millionaire.  Young women musicians of the era had few professional options but Cora's drive and immense talent became  the key to her future.   

Greta Nettleton is a professional writer, editor and researcher from Palisades, NY, with decades of experience working for clients ranging from the World Bank to Microsoft.  She holds a BA in History from Duke University and an MA from the University of Texas at Austin.  She has devoted five years of research to reconstruct Cora's story and is currently working on a second book about Cora's mother, Mrs. Dr. Keck called The Charmed Line.  For more information please visit author's website:  www.gretanettleton.com. 

Pianist Miki Sawada will play selections from Cora's own sheet music.  Miki recently completed her Master of Music degree at Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Natalya Antonova, and will continue her studies in the fall in Yale School of Music's Artist Diploma program as a full scholarship recipient.  For more information about Miki Sawada please visit:  www.mikisawada.com.