LENOX, Mass. — Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, Victoria Christopher Murray, co-author of "The Personal Librarian," is coming to Ventfort Hall on Tuesday, July 30 at 3 pm.

 

Sarah Morgan, sister of JP Morgan, commissioned the building of Ventfort Hall in Lenox in 1891. Murray will disclose parallels and connections between her story and Ventfort Hall in her lecture.

 

The lecture portion of this Tea & Talk will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 88 Walker Street, near Ventfort Hall, at 3pm. After the lecture, guests of the tea can walk or drive to Ventfort Hall for service, where Victoria Christopher Murray will be in attendance. We have several copies of The Personal Librarian for sale in our gift shop at Ventfort Hall.

 

Victoria Christopher Murray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels, including the New York Times Instant Best Sellers, "The Personal Librarian" and "The First Ladies," both novels Victoria co-wrote with Marie Benedict. A native New Yorker, Victoria Christopher Murray attended Hampton University where she majored in Communication Disorders. After graduating, Victoria attended New York University's Stern School of Business where she received her MBA in Marketing.

 

Victoria originally self published her first novel, "Temptation" and in 2000, Time Warner published that novel. "Temptation" remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine consecutive months. In 2001, Victoria received her first NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Literature with Temptation. Over her career, Victoria has received numerous awards including the Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award, the Delta Sigma Theta Osceola Award for Excellence in the Arts, eleven African American Literary Awards and five NAACP Image Award nominations. In 2016, she won the Image Award for Outstanding Literature for her social commentary novel, Stand Your Ground. 

 

In addition to being a New York Times Bestseller, "The Personal Librarian" was a Good Morning America Book Club selection and named a Best Book of the Year by NPR. The First Ladies was Target's 2023 Book of the Year. Five of Victoria's Seven Deadly Sins novels have been turned into Lifetime movies and The Personal Librarian has been optioned by Al Roker Entertainment to become a miniseries. With more than three million books in print, Victoria is one of the country's top African American contemporary authors.

 

Tickets are $75 for both the talk and tea. $18 tickets for the talk only are sold out. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited and this event is expected to sell out. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call (413) 637-3206. All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable.