Peggy Miller Franck - Prides Crossing

	Peggy Miller Franck
	Prides Crossing The Unbridled Life and Impatient Times of ELEONORA SEARS

PAST EVENTS

November 12, 2009
Beverly Public Library, Beverly, MA
   7:00pm - Beverly Farms History Project

The topic for November is “Remembering Eleo”. The evening will begin with a half hour illustrated talk on the life of Eleonora Sears. Attendees will be invited to share their memories of Eleo. The meeting in the Lecture Hall is free and open to the public.

October 9, 2009 - Attended by Author
Longwood Cricket Club
     6:00pm - Lecture, Reception, and Author signing

October 8, 2009 - Attended by Author
Chilton Club, Dartmouth Street
     11:00am - Lecture (intro by Cary Smallhorn)
     12:00pm - Book Sales, Refreshments, and Author signing
     12:30pm - Lunch

Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton
6:30pm - Cocktails and Book Sales
     7:00pm - Lecture, Q&A, Book Sales, and Author signing
     8:00pm - Buffet Dinner

October 7, 2009 - Attended by Author
Boston Athenaeum
     6:00pm - Introduction by BA Director Pamela Mathews and John Sears
     6:10pm - Lecture
     7:00pm - Q&A
     7:15pm - Book Sales, Reception, and Author signing

The Past as Prelude: Eleonora Sears and the Birth of the Modern World
Nicknamed the "Universal Female Athlete," Eleonora Sears cut a swath through society in the first half of the 20th century, as arguably the greatest and most versatile female athlete of her generation. Sportswriter Grantland Rice said that "the two girls who did the most to turn the world spotlight on their sex, with the possible exception of Cleopatra, were Eleonora Sears and Babe Didrikson Zaharias." Babe carried the torch, but Eleo lit the spark.

Born in 1881, Eleo was the self-liberated daughter of one of Boston's First Families and a great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson. Eleo, whose life spanned the eras of rigid Victorian orthodoxy and the dawn of the nuclear age, faced off against the world like a gladiator, wielding her competitive skill, her wealth, and the force of her will to topple ancient and suffocating commandments. The breadth of her athletic achievements placed her at the heart of many of the seminal developments of the 20th century. The sweeping technological and social changes that Eleo and America grappled with during those years continue to bend and baffle today's world. Join Peggy Miller Franck, the author of Prides Crossing: The Unbridled Life & Impatient Times of Eleonora Sears and daughter of Eleo's financial advisor, as she paints a dramatic portrait of Boston society and the woman who dared to be different. The evening is sponsored by J. Linzee Coolidge. Refreshments and a book signing will follow the lecture.