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Lewes Public Library History Book Festival discussion group sets meeting Feb. 21

February 10, 2018

The Lewes Public Library will host its second monthly History Book Festival book discussion Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., in the library's medium meeting room. The library is located at 111 Adams Ave. in Lewes. Members of the public are invited to attend the free event. The discussion group meets the third Wednesday of each month to discuss several of the books featured at the 2017 History Book Festival, and the new books that will be featured at this year's second annual History Book Festival Sept. 28-29 in Lewes.

A library staff member facilitates the discussion groups. The History Book Festival stocks a limited number of the books to be discussed; the books are available for checkout at the library's circulation desk.

Participants in the Feb. 21 book discussion group will have an opportunity to meet and talk via Skype with Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos, author of “The Pirate Next Door: The Untold Story of Eighteenth Century Pirates' Wives, Families and Communities.” Geanacopoulos was a presenter at the 2017 History Book Festival. Her thoroughly researched work takes what is thought to be known about pirates and turns it on its head by exploring their human side - the wives, families, and communities of the men who have long been considered outlaws and outcasts.

The next book, for the discussion group March 21, will be “The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home,” by Sally Mott Freeman, also a 2017 festival presenter. This work explores the extraordinary, real-life adventure of three brothers at the center of the most dramatic turning points of World War II and their mad race to change history - and save one of their own.

Last year's inaugural History Book Festival, a two-day event in October, attracted over 1,000 visitors, who enjoyed a mix of author presentations, interviews and panel discussions with more than 25 best-selling authors and notable moderators. The events were held in intimate venues around Lewes. The historical fiction and nonfiction books covered a range of topics, from the gripping story about the hunt for President Lincoln's assassin, to books about pirates, jazz, war, art, race, religion and the law.

The 2018 festival is scheduled for Sept. 28-29 in Lewes. As before, the authors' presentations are designed to bring the past alive, give attendees new perspectives on the past and present, and leave them enriched and inspired. In the coming months, the book discussion groups at the library will provide participants with a sneak peek at the wide range of works to be featured at the festival.

For more information about this book discussion group, the library, or any of its programs, visit www.leweslibrary.org. More information about the History Book Festival is available at www.historybookfestival.org. The Lewes Public Library is an independent public library member of the Delaware Library Catalog. The catalog consists of all the public libraries in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, and other academic and institutional libraries.

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