John Putnam Demos

This event will take place at Scoville Memorial Library, 38 Main Street, Salisbury, CT06068 - (860) 435-2838

Presented in partnership with Oblong Books & Music and the Salisbury Association Historical Society.

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Near the start of the nineteenth century, as the newly established United States looked outward toward the wider world, a group of eminent Protestant ministers formed a grand scheme for gathering the rest of mankind into the redemptive fold of Christianity and “civilization.” Its core element was a special school for “heathen youth” drawn from all parts of the earth, including the Pacific Islands, China, India, and, increasingly, the native nations of North America.

The heathen school follows the progress, and the demise, of this first true melting pot through the lives of individual students: among them, Henry Obookiah, a young Hawaiian who ran away from home and worked as a seaman in the China Trade before ending up in New England; John Ridge, son of a powerful Cherokee chief and subsequently a leader in the process of Indian “removal”; and Elias Boudinot, editor of the first newspaper published by and for Native Americans. From its birth as a beacon of hope for universal “salvation,” The heathen school descends into bitter controversy, as American racial attitudes harden and intensify. Instead of encouraging reconciliation, the school exposes the limits of tolerance and sets off a chain of events that will culminate tragically in the Trail of Tears.

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His previous books include The unredeemed captive, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Entertaining Satan, which won the Bancroft Prize. He lives in Tyringham, MA.

Location: Street: 38 Main Street City: Salisbury, Province: Connecticut Postal Code: 06068 Country: United States (tillagd från IndieBound)… (mer)

John Demos (The unredeemed captive, The heathen school)

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His previous books includeThe unredeemed captive, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Entertaining Satan, which won the Bancroft Prize. He lives in Tyringham, MA. (tillagd från Random House)… (mer)

John Demos (The unredeemed captive, The heathen school)

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His previous books includeThe unredeemed captive, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Entertaining Satan, which won the Bancroft Prize. He lives in Tyringham, MA. (tillagd från Random House)… (mer)

John Demos (The unredeemed captive, The heathen school)

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His previous books includeThe unredeemed captive, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Entertaining Satan, which won the Bancroft Prize. He lives in Tyringham, MA. (tillagd från Random House)… (mer)

Saturday April 12, 6 – 8:30 pm: A Celebration of Authors. Each author will speak for 5‐10 minutes and a book signing will follow the author talks. Books will be available to purchase at Northshire Bookstore. Gail Caldwell, author of New Life, No Instructions: A Memoir (to be published 4/1/2014) – a stunning, exquisitely written memoir about a dramatic turning point in her life, and about the surprising way life can begin again, at any age. Her most recently-published book is the much-acclaimed LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME: A MEMOIR OF FRIENDSHIP (available now in paperback). Kelly Corrigan, author of Glitter and glue: A MEMOIR, a new memoir that examines the bond—sometimes nourishing, sometimes exasperating, occasionally divine—between mothers and daughters. Kelly’s most recently-published book is The Middle Place (available now in paperback) John Demos, award-winning historian and author of The heathen school: A STORY OF HOPE AND BETRAYAL IN THE AGE OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC (to be published 3/18/2014) “Demos has done it again, finding macroscopic meanings within a microscopic locale, which in this instance is a school in Cornwall, Connecticut, designed to civilize heathens into mainstream American culture in the early years of the nineteenth century. The best of intentions have the worst of consequences in this story, and the tragedies that almost inevitably ensue are like tombstones telling the saddest story of all. In my judgment, no one know how to manage this material as well as Demos, disdaining moralistic judgments and condescending appraisals in favor of an elegiac tone that makes us all complicitous in ‘the tragedy.’” —Joseph J. Ellis, author of Revolutionary Summer. Demos’ earlier book, The unredeemed captive: A FAMILY STORY FROM EARLY AMERICA, is available now in paperback and is a bookseller favorite. P.S. Duffy, author of THE CARTOGRAPHER OF NO MAN’S LAND (available now). – From a hardscrabble village in Nova Scotia to the collapsing trenches of France, a debut novel about a family divided by World War I. This is Penny’s first novel, but it reads like the work of a much-acclaimed master. Bruce Holsinger, author of A Burnable Book. Some of you may know Bruce as the instructor of the online course “Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction” from Coursera. In Chaucer’s London, betrayal, murder and intrigue swirl around the existence of a prophetic book that foretells the deaths of England’s kings. A Burnable Book is an irresistible thriller, reminiscent of classics like An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Name of the Rose and The Crimson Petal and the White. Jennifer McMahon, author of The Winter People. Set in Vermont, The Winter People is a simmering literary thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters . . . sometimes too unbreakable. It’s a little creepy, especially if you’re reading on a cold winter’s night in an old Vermont inn on the edge of the Vermont woods. Jennifer’s most recently-published novel is The One I Left Behind (available now in paperback). Rupert Thomson, author of Secrecy – Zummo – a 17th-century prodigy and creator of wax figures so realistic they look as though they might draw breath – has spent his life fleeing his past. Summoned to the Medici court by the Grand Duke, a man of holy devotions and hidden longings, Zummo finds himself in a city riddled with hypocrisy and contradictions.Rupert’s most recently-published novel is Death of a Murderer.

Location: Street: 4869 Main St Additional: City: Manchester Center, Province: Vermont Postal Code: 05255 Country: United States (tillagd från IndieBound)… (mer)

The Stowe Center teams up with the Connecticut Historical Society to present an Author Talk & Book Signing with John Demos, author of The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Age of the Early Republic, hot off the presses.

Join us to hear the astonishing story of a unique missionary project--and the America it embodied--from award-winning historian John Demos. Near the start of the 19th century, a group of eminent Protestant ministers formed a grand scheme for gathering the rest of mankind into the redemptive fold of Christianity and "civilization." Its core element was a special school for "heathen youth" drawn from all parts of the earth, including the Pacific islands, China, India, and, increasingly, the native nations of North America. If all went well, graduates would return to join similar projects in their respective homelands.

For some years the school prospered, indeed became quite famous. However, when two Cherokee students courted and married local women, public resolve--and fundamental ideals--were put to a severe test.

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His previous books include The Unredeemed Captive, which won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, and Entertaining Satan, which won the Bancroft Prize.

Reservations: (860) 236-5621 x289 (thalassophile)… (mer)