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Meet Authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Due to circumstances beyond our control, Marie Benedict will not appear at tonight’s event. Victoria Christopher Murray will still speak and sign books following the program.

Authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray will discuss their latest book, The First Ladies.

Each ticket ($30) includes event admission, a copy of The First Ladies, and a donation to the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation.

About the authors:

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator. A graduate of Boston College and the Boston University School of Law, she is the New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. All have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Victoria Christopher Murray is an acclaimed author with more than one million books in print. She has written more than twenty novels, including Stand Your Ground, a NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Fiction and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

The First Ladies is a novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—an unlikely friendship that changed the world.

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph.

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely, particularly as Eleanor moves toward her own agenda separate from FDR, a consequence of the devastating discovery of her husband’s secret love affair. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality.

This is the story of two different, yet equally formidable, passionate, and committed women, and the way in which their singular friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement.

FAQs

Additional books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Mac’s Backs – Books on Coventry.

For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations for individuals with hearing, visual or mobility impairments, please email [email protected].

NO REFUNDS. If you are unable to attend the event, please contact [email protected] to claim the book(s) included with your ticket purchase and schedule pick up from the CCPL branch of your choice. Books not claimed within 7 days of the event will be donated to the Library.

Questions? Email us at [email protected].