June 11, 2013
Cleopatra: a life by Stacy Schiff
Her palace shimmered with onyx and gold but was richer still in
political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd
strategist and an ingenious negotiator. She was married twice, each time
to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first and
poisoned the second; incest and assassination were family specialties.
She had children by Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of the most
prominent Romans of the day. With Antony she would attempt to forge a
new empire, in an alliance that spelled both their ends. Famous long
before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the
wrong reasons. Her supple personality and the drama of her
circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical
sources, Stacy Schiff boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the
magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.
July 9, 2013
The Daughter of Providence by Julie Drew
Anne Dodge was raised by her New England Protestant father in the small
coastal town of Warwick, Rhode Island. She has always been told that her
Portuguese mother abandoned them when Anne was a small child, and died
without ever contacting them again. After her mother's death, Anne
learns that she has a half-sister, Maria Cristina, who was raised among
Portuguese immigrants. But when Maria Cristina comes to stay with Anne
and her father, ugly truths begin to surface.
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Westerly Public Library book discussion group is open to all readers of the current book. Each month's selection is listed on this website and in the on-paper calendar which is mailed to members of the Friends of the Library and Park, also available at the Circulation and Reference desks.
The group meets year-round on the second Tuesday of the month at 1 pm in the Library. Participants choose the books and share responsibility for discussions.
Book Discussions