The Red Garden
By Alice Hoffman
The Red Garden presents us with the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts as it captures the unexpected turns in history and in our own lives.
Beautifully crafted, shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is a transforming glimpse into small town America, presenting us with 300 years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty and redemption in a web of tales where characters lives are intertwined by fate and by their own actions.
From the time the town is founded by a brave, young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or of bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded civil war solider who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a historical character who is fiercely human, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives.
At the center of everyone’s life is an extraordinary garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look.
Author Alice Hoffman will be on Nantucket for the 2013 Nantucket Book Festival.
One Book One Island, begun in 2007, is a collaboration of 12 island organizations who select a book for the community to read each year, distribute free copies and organize a series of events related to the book. the OBOI reading project’s goal is to foster a love or reading and help build a sense of community.
On January 14th come to the Atheneum Great Hall to pick up a free book between 10 am and 2 pm.
Beginning January 15th books will be available at:
- Annye’s Whole Foods
- Nantucket Atheneum
- Nantucket Bookworks
- Nantucket Cottage Hospital Living Room
- Nantucket Historical Association offices
- Salt Marsh Senior Center
From February 4 – 10, 2013 there will be a number of free One Book One Island events related to the themes of the book.
Schedule of Events
Book Discussion of The Red Garden
Monday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
Nantucket Atheneum Great Hall, 1 India Street
Free admission
Discussion facilitated by Molly Anderson, Atheneum Library Director.
Film: “Ethan Frome”
Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 pm
Coffin School, 4 Winter Street
Free Admission
A 1993 film based on Edith Wharton’s classic novel of the same name, stars Liam Neeson and Patricia Arquette, directed by John Madden. 99 minutes long.
Book Discussion of The Red Garden
Thursday, Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m.
Sherburne Commons, 21 South Shore Road
Free admission
Discussion facilitated by Molly Anderson, Atheneum Library Director.
Family Craft
Sat., Feb. 9 10 am – 12 pm
Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm Hayloft, Bartlett Farm Rd.
Free admission
Fun for all ages. A craft and food making event based on themes from the book.
OBOI 2013 Closing Program: “Look No Further: The Importance of Place.”
Sun., Feb. 17 at 6 pm
Nantucket Whaling Museum, 15 Broad Street
“Why is Nantucket the place for you?” Join us for a gam style gathering moderated by Chuck Gifford. The event features brief presentations by an accomplished group of islanders who will share Nantucket experiences from the island’s founding in the 1600s through present day. Audience interaction encouraged!
Followed by a light bite reception
2013 One Book One Island Sponsors
- African Meeting House/Museum of African American History
- Egan Maritime Institute
- Maria Mitchell Association
- Nantucket Arts Council
- Nantucket Atheneum
- Nantucket Conservation Foundation
- Nantucket Council on Aging/Nantucket Center for Elder Affairs
- Nantucket Historical Association
- Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror
- Nantucket Preservation Trust
- Sherburne Commons
- Spoken Word Nantucket
