Less than a mile from Manhattan, in the East River, exists a little-known island that has been abandoned for over half a century and whose history is shadowed with death, disease, and decay. Today, New York City’s North Brother Island is closed to all visitors, but from the 1880s through World War II, this 20-acre area served as a quarantine location for patients with infectious diseases.
Using the historical island’s Riverside Hospital as a backdrop, debut Milwaukee author Shelley Nolden explores the island’s hidden history and tells a remarkable story of a woman quarantined there for decades. Eerily relevant in today’s world hyper-focused on virology and immunization, this historically rich account imagines the tragic life of one long-persecuted patient who manages to survive alone on an uninhabited island.
The Vines is the story of Cora, an asymptomatic carrier of several contagious diseases, and the generations of doctors who have treated her. Cora has been a patient (prisoner?) on North Brother Island since she was eighteen, and after decades of being experimented on in the name of science, a modern-day explorer discovers the enigmatic Cora, and in the process uncovers terrifying secrets.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Nolden was born and raised in Milwaukee, where she resides today. Nolden will discuss her novel The Vines in a virtual event hosted by Boswell Books. Nolden will appear in conversation alongside fellow author Greer Macallister (The Magician’s Lie and The Arctic Fury) 7 p.m., April 13.
Book Happening:
Bestselling author Stephanie Dray is out with another dazzling historical novel that has been named one of 2021’s most anticipated. The Women of Chateau Lafayette is a remarkable true story of generations of strong women who fought to protect a family castle in the heart of France.
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Author Stephanie Dray, whose critically acclaimed historical series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into eight languages, will discuss her latest work, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, in a virtual event co-sponsored by Lynden Sculpture Garden and Boswell Books on April 12 at 7pm. This is a ticketed event with more information available at draylynden.eventbrite.com.
