Our second Books on Beechwood Author Dinner of the year will not only feature another beloved Ottawa author, but will also take us to another great local restaurant!
For this Books on Beechwood Author Dinner, we will be joined by the incomparable Charlotte Gray as she treats us to a presentation on her brand new book, “Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons.” Our dinner will take place at Dhruvees Restaurant right here on Beechwood Avenue on Monday, November 6.
Whether you were a regular attendee at our beloved Titles@Table40 events, or are new to the author dinner bandwagon, just scroll down to find out all the details of this new Books on Beechwood Author Dinner series!
How it Works
The evening starts at 6:00pm with dinner, followed by the author presentation and book signing. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the bookstore. The non-refundable cost is $62.00 which includes the cost of the meal (a set menu served family style), tax, and tip. All beverages are extra and will be charged at the end of the evening.
Dhruvees Restaurant can accommodate any special dietary needs if we are informed at the bookstore in advance.
Tickets for this exciting dinner event are on sale now, so be sure to call, visit or e-mail us to book yours today!
About the book:
“A captivating dual biography of two famous women whose sons would change the course of the 20th century—by award-winning historian Charlotte Gray.
Born into upper-class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano (later to become the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Jennie Jerome (later to become the mother of Winston Churchill) refused to settle into predictable, sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. Instead, both women concentrated their energies on enabling their sons to reach the epicentre of political power on two continents.
In the mid-19th century, the British Empire was at its height, France’s Second Empire flourished, and the industrial vigor of the United States of America was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and Jennie, raised with privilege but subject to the constraints of women’s roles at the time, learned how to take control of their destinies—Sara in the prosperous Hudson Valley, and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London.
Yet their personalities and choices were dramatically different. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill, a rising politician and scion of a noble British family. Her deft social and political maneuverings helped not only her mercurial husband but, once she was widowed, her ambitious son, Winston. By contrast, deeply conventional Sara Delano married a man as old as her father. But once widowed, she made Franklin, her only child, the focus of her existence. Thanks in large part to her financial support and to her guidance, Franklin acquired the skills he needed to become a successful politician.
Set against one hundred years of history, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons is a study in loyalty and resilience. Gray argues that Jennie and Sara are too often presented as lesser figures in the backdrop of history rather than as two remarkable individuals who were key in shaping the characters of the sons who adored them and in preparing them for leadership on the world stage.
Impeccably researched and filled with intriguing social insights, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons breathes new life into Sara and Jennie, offering a fascinating and fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made.”
