Please note the library will close at 1pm on Sunday, October 20th for a private event.

BROWSE

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PROGRAMS / READING GROUPS / A Freewheeling Look at Glamour & Glitz

Marilyn Monroe in a provocative gold lamé gown, the resplendent Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, Uncle Scrooge McDuck standing resolutely atop his towering mountain of golden lucre – three very different images of glamour & glitz! But, as William Shakespeare cautioned in The Merchant of Venice, “All that glitters is not gold.” Or is it?

OVERVIEW

This group will take a freewheeling look at the power of glamour & glitz in the human experience. How have glamorous individuals and their evolving circumstances been reflected in the literary realm? Gilded darlings, bedeviled victims, or perhaps a bit of both? Who knows what we’ll find! But this much is certain: Our eclectic array of reading selections promises to light the way for us.

In the non-fiction arena, we’ll learn more about a very diverse group of remarkable personalities:

Tsarina Alexandra, a tragic figure whose beloved husband, Tsar Nicholas II, was once “the richest man in the world” before the Russian Revolution swept it all away
Coco Chanel, esteemed French couturière, forever changed the way women dressed — she once proclaimed, “I don’t do fashion — I AM fashion!”
Truman Capote, inimitable enfant terrible of American letters, never fails to astonish in this collection of his later writing – from smoking pot with his cleaning lady, to airport hijinks with Pearl Bailey, to a macabre crime novella entitled “Handcarved Coffins” that’s pure Grand Guignol!
Maurizio Gucci, dashing scion of an international fashion dynasty ravaged by murder, madness, glamour, and greed

Further insight will come from our captivating tales of fiction:

A once-in-a-lifetime epicurean feast, prepared by a mysterious émigreé, magically transforms an austere Norwegian religious community
Four well-born Japanese sisters struggle with their family’s fluctuating fortunes and the demanding intricacies of matchmaking in the years immediately preceding World War II
In 1937 on New Year’s Eve – the most glamorous night of the year – a young woman meets a handsome banker in a Greenwich Village jazz club and is thrust into Gotham’s dizzying haute monde
Everybody’s favorite aunt, living her most dazzling life, aims with great success to imbue her orphaned nephew with a resounding spirit of open-minded joie de vivre
A glamorous American woman faces her own identity against the backdrop of her husband’s failed Presidential campaign, a star-crossed adulterous affair, and the dramatic fall of Saigon

Ready to go? Then grab a glass of champagne – a 1959 Dom Perignon Brut should do quite nicely – for a celebratory toast! Here’s to glamour & glitz!

MEETING AND READING SCHEDULE

This group meets in the Athenæum’s Bound on the first Sunday afternoon of the month, from 2–3:30pm. Please note, the September session will meet on the second Sunday.

The facilitator will provide a syllabus with a brief narrative commentary on our monthly selections and suggested YouTube videos to enhance your reading experience. You can expect lively discussions to take place in good company throughout the year!

Sun, September 10
The Last Empress: The Life & Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia, Greg King

Sun, October 1
Babette’s Feast (a short story), Isak Dinesen

Sun, November 5
Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel & the Pulse of History, Rhonda K. Garelick

Sun, December 3
The Makioka Sisters, Junichiro Tanizaki

Sunday, January 14 [**POSTPONED FROM JANUARY 7 DUE TO SNOW**]
Rules of Civility, Amor Towles

Sun, February 4
Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis

March 3
Music for Chameleons, Truman Capote

April 7
Democracy, Joan Didion

May 5
The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, & Greed, Sara Gay Forden

GROUP FACILITATOR

Kip Brott is a certified glamour freak who earned his BA and MA degrees in art history from UCLA. He has also taken courses in fashion history at RISD, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Parsons School of Design. He offers popular classes at the Lifelong Learning Collaborative here in Providence and he has lectured at Hamilton House on occasion.

At the Athenæum, Kip has led several well-received book groups in past years. This time around, his search to create a vibrant list of reading selections was somewhat prolonged – faced as he was with an embarrassment of riches, there always remained at the back of his mind that stirring admonition in Peck’s 1837 New Guide to the West: “The real Eldorado is still further on.” But he finally landed and here we have it.

The Athenæum is deeply grateful to our wonderful volunteer leaders. Please note library reading groups are not classes or courses, but rather a way for individuals to discuss readings together, guided by both expert and amateur enthusiasts. Participants should expect discussion-based, not lecture-style meetings.

Reading group registration has ended for the spring season, and new groups will be announced in July! Members will receive information via email about upcoming offerings and registration information. Please note that participation is reserved for Athenæum members.