Six Scholars Six Books: An Appreciation of Women Scholars for Women's History Month

Program Type:

Books & Authors, Women's History

Age Group:

Teens, Adults, Adults 55+

Event Details

Starting from the definition of scholar as an erudite person, a student of
knowledge in its largest sense, this illustrated presentation will explore the lives of six women who were leading scholars in their fields.

Beginning with Jane Ellen Harrison, a classics scholar who founded the modern study of Greek religion, this lecture will consider Agnes Arber (botany), Marjorie Hope Nicolson (imaginative literature), Beatrice Warde (typography), M. F. K. Fisher (gastronomy), and Simone Weil (philosopher; political activist). All were writers of the highest quality, and our review of their lives will be guided by a focus on a single book of each. All six books are considered masterpieces of their kind today.

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  • Jane Ellen Harrison (1850-1928) Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion (1912)
  • Agnes Arber (1879-1960) Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution (1912)
  • Marjorie Hope Nicolson (1894-1981) Mountain Gloom and Mountain Glory: The Development of the Aesthetics of the Infinite (1959)
  • Beatrice Warde (1900-1969) The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible (1932)
  • M. F. K. Fisher (1908-1992) The Gastronomical Me (1943)
  • Simone Weil (1909-1943) The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Obligations Towards the Human Being (1952)

Presented by David Rose, New Rochelle Public Library Archivist

This program is cosponsored by Dobbs Ferry Public Library, Irvington Public Library, Mamaroneck Public Library, New Rochelle Library, Pound Ridge Public Library, Tuckahoe Public Library and Yonkers Public Library.