Marie Benedict To Headline Library Foundation Gala
Thursday, January 19th, 2023
Marie Benedict, the beloved national best-selling author of The Personal Librarian and Her Hidden Geniuswho tells the historically-based stories of women who made great contributions to society but did not receive acclaim or credit for their efforts will be the guest author and speaker at this year’s Muscogee County Library Foundation Founders Society Gala on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
In addition, Ms. Benedict will give a free public presentation and book signing at the Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road on Friday, January 20 at 11:00am.
No tickets or reservations are needed for the public appearance. Those interested in attending the Gala should contact the Foundation at 706.243.2705.
Copies of Ms. Benedict's latest novel The Mitford Affair as well as a collection of her other titles will be sold at the public event on January 20.
Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair tells the story of the six Mitford sisters — each more beautiful, brilliant, and eccentric than the next — as they dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister's lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she's become Hitler's mistress. The novel follows sister Nancy (an author) and her valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political.
Benedict's previous best-seller Her Hidden Genius tells in novel form the story of Rosalind Franklin, the brilliant scientist whose discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was stolen by her male contemporaries. And in collaboration with author Victoria Christopher Murray, The Personal Librarian reintroduces readers to Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation as the personal librarian to financier J.P. Morgan.
