This article has been updated to include the event’s location.
For more than a decade the Bighorn Book Group, led by group chairman Paula Bastiaanse and hosted at Bighorn Golf Club, has brought together passionate readers for lively, informed discussions. Each month, participants gather after reading the selected book to exchange ideas and engage in stimulating conversations.
In January the group welcomed author Allison Pataki at a salon tea to discuss her book “Finding Margaret Fuller.” As a historical fiction writer, Pataki snatched Margaret Fuller off the cutting room floor of history and created a best-selling novel.
Set in the mid-1800s Fuller joined transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott and others for inspiration and enlightenment. Fuller was an activist for women, the first American female war correspondent and a trailblazer in the journalism profession. Fuller was unable to reach her full potential when her life was cut short. At the age of 41 she, her husband and child were lost at sea on a ship bound for America.
Pataki also discussed her book “The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post,” a glimpse into the remarkable life of an American heiress and trailblazer of the twentieth century. Again, a fascinating, strong woman forgotten in history.
Participants at the salon tea enjoyed pu-erh tea from Yunnan, China, made popular by the Lisa See novel “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.” A variety of tea sandwiches and tasty sweet tea cakes were served.
In February the group greeted Sonia Purnell, author of “Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue,” for a three-course Parisian-inspired lunch.
The book reveals the spectacular story of how Harriman left her mark on the world and influenced practically everyone in politics, culture and fashion in the 20th century. Harriman’s father-in-law, Winston Churchill, utilized her as a secret weapon during World War II to seduce Americans to the British cause against Hitler. Her influence continued later in the United States, where she hand-picked Bill Clinton from obscurity and vaulted him to the presidency.
At the time of Harriman’s death in 1997 she served as U.S. Ambassador to France, thus the miniature Eiffel Tower centerpieces surrounded by fresh flowers and the French inspired cuisine at the event.
Purnell also wrote “A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II” and “Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill.” Along with “Kingmaker,” Purnell considers these three books about strong, influential women who have been ignored or maligned in history as her literary trilogy.
The Bighorn Book Group continues its reputation as a cultural cornerstone by introducing members to these two incredible authors.
Marge Dodge serves on several local nonprofit boards supporting her passions of education, literacy and the arts.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Bighorn Book Group celebrates strong women
Reporting by Marge Dodge, Special to The Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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