Page Turners – Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Page Turners’ Book Club will meet this month to discuss Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. Clara Driscoll (1861-1944) was an actual designer who worked for Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) at the turn of the last century. This novel steps into her shoes as she creates designs with colored glass pieces and manages the all-woman studio that assembles signature Tiffany windows and lampshades. While the storyline traces this independent woman’s days over the course of sixteen years, it also by necessity touches on some of the tensions of the times: the limitations of the rights of women; the difficulties of newly-arrived immigrants to the boroughs of New York; the demands of trade unions and the administrative challenges they can cause. It juxtaposes Art against Commerce, raising the question of which one of the two is more important. This is a dichotomy the Tiffany Company itself must face and must resolve in order to survive.

The Monday morning group will meet on November 26, at 10:00 a.m. in the home of Ann Christiansen, 23841 Bluehill Bay. The Monday afternoon group will meet at Frances Ozimec’s home, 33391 Padina Circle. Marcia Enger will lead the discussion for both groups. The Thursday afternoon group will meet at the ClubHouse at 1:00 p.m. on November 29. For the month of December there will be a joint dessert/book exchange meeting of all three groups at 1:00 p.m. on December 18, at the ClubHouse. Please bring a gently used or new book that you really enjoyed for the exchange.

For more information about Page Turners you can contact: Gretchen Rask: grask707@gmail.com, 489-2259 — Monday morning. Diane Hearne: Phearne4@cox.net, 661-6267 — Monday afternoon. Lisa Buchner: lisabuchner@ cox.net, 496-9546 — Thursday afternoon.

—Lisa Buchner

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