On July 11th, we were the booksellers for a fun and informative night at Scott Manor House with two local authors of historical fiction. Between the Lines: An Evening in Conversation with Donna Jones Alward, When the World Fell Silent, and Ship of Dreams, and Sarah Emsley, The Austens. The sold-out event was $20 a ticket with the proceeds going to Scott Manor House. After recent political events, we aim to support our local arts and heritage community.
Scott Manor House is a historic 1770 Dutch Colonial Museum, located at 15 Fort Sackville Road in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Built circa 1770 for merchant Joseph Scott, it is one of the oldest standing landmarks in the area overlooking the Bedford Basin.
Donna and Sarah easily held court and discussed their latest books, writing life, and what it means to be a historical fiction author in Nova Scotia. In an interesting twist of the evening, Donna and Sarah each picked and read selection from the other’s book, instead of one from their own. After the event was over, light refreshments and snacks were served, while everyone had the opportunity to speak individually with the authors and get their books signed.
There were 28 attendees, not including authors, booksellers, or the organizers, who were all interested in historical fiction, many with a passion for Jane Austen and/or the Titanic. Thanks to Sandi Corbin for organizing this first literary event at Scott Manor House. We are looking forward to more such events.
“Talking about historical fiction with my friend and fellow novelist Donna Jones Alward and the wonderful audience at Scott Manor House was a delight and a pleasure. Donna’s novel Ship of Dreams and my novel The Austens are set more than a hundred years apart, but they share a focus on bonds of friendship and sisterhood that transcend both time and place.”
-Sarah Emsley
Since 2006, New York Times bestseller Donna Jones Alward has enchanted readers with stories of happy endings and homecomings that have won several awards and been translated into over a dozen languages. She’s worked as an administrative assistant, teaching assistant, in retail, and as a stay-at-home mom, but always knew her degree in English Literature would pay off, as she is now happy to be a full-time writer. Her new historical fiction tales blend her love of history with characters who step beyond their biggest fears to claim the lives they desire. Donna currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and two cats. You can often find her near the water, either kayaking on the lake or walking the sandy beaches to refill her creative well. www.donnajonesalward.com
Sarah Emsley is the author of Jane Austen’s Philosophy of the Virtues and a history of St. Paul’s in the Grand Parade, the church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Jane Austen’s niece, Cassy, was baptized in 1809. She received her PhD from Dalhousie University, held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford, taught classes on Austen in the Writing Program at Harvard University, and now lives in Halifax with her family. She has hosted several blog series celebrations of Austen’s work at www.sarahemsley.com, and she edited a collection of essays on Jane Austen and the North Atlantic for the Jane Austen Society. The Austens is her debut novel.
Dartmouth Book Exchange will continue to carry Donna and Sarah’s novels, many of which are signed.