“My presentations are equal parts education and entertainment,” says Meyer of the teaching style she developed while working in public and homeschool environments, college campuses, museums, and libraries.
Meyer struggled with dyslexia as a child, but she found that having a personal connection to the topics she needed to learn about in school helped motivate her to keep reading.
“A bunch of dry facts in a textbook didn't mean anything to me. I have to have a personal connection in order to learn, to care about this mass of information being thrown at me. I need to know 'the story' behind the information,” explains Meyer.
She brought this approach to the Cumming Library last month when she gave intriguing guest lectures on two iconic books.
Dressed in authentic Victorian costume, Meyer spoke about John Kesselring’s Arsenic and Old Lace, a story based on the 1917 conviction of boarding house serial killer Amy Archer-Gilligan. Meyer described how Archer-Gilligan sent out postcards advertising available rooms and used them to lure somewhere between 10 and 50 people to be poisoned.
While the dark nature of the original book was on-par with public preferences of the Victorian age, when it was turned into a film in 1944, producers decided it was too dark and Cary Grant’s performance brought physical comedy to make the film more appealing to viewers.
To reveal “the story behind the story,” Meyer also spoke about the historical narrative of the Archer-Gilligan case from the police inspector’s view in The Devil’s Rooming House by M. William Phelps, who, coincidentally, was on the writing team for the first season of Dexter, another dark comedy.
Meyer returned to the Cumming Library a few weeks later, this time dressed in Edwardian costume, to talk about the adventurous life of Nellie Bly, the first undercover journalist.
Bly’s book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, describes how she feigned insanity, was committed after a cursory medical examination, and the horrible conditions she and other inmates experienced at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island in New York. Bly’s exposé about the experience instigated an inspection of the asylum and, based on their findings, new laws were passed to improve the mental health system.
Again, Meyer revealed a deeper examination of Bly’s life with the audience by sharing “Around the World in 72 Days,” a board game that gained popularity following Bly’s solo trip around the world in 72 days and 6 hours in a bid to beat the fictional record of Jules Verne’s character, Phileas Fogg.
Programming Manager Tracy Walker says library patrons enjoyed hearing Sloane share stories and interesting tidbits of history about books that they might not choose to read on their own.
“Some of the books we’ve invited her to discuss were likely on one of your required reading lists in school. While you might have avoided those assignments back then, Sloane’s sense of humor and her obvious enthusiasm for the history surrounding the books she’s discussing will make you want to read those stories with fresh eyes,” says Walker.
The series, Bringing Literature to Life, continues this summer and into the fall with five more events:
H.G. Wells
Explore science fiction scenes and stay for a screening of The War of the Worlds.
Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cumming Library
An Evening Experience with The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America describes the intrigue surrounding Chicago's 1893 World's Fair and the serial killer who stalked its visitors.
Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Post Road Library
Ray Bradbury
Explore scenes from The Martian Chronicles, along with other works of dystopian and science fiction by Ray Bradbury.
Saturday, June 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cumming Library
The Edwardians: Down to the Abbey
Fans of Downton Abbey will enjoy this comparison of the show to the actual timeline of events surrounding Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 and King Edward VII’s ascension to the throne.
Thursday, September 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Post Road Library
Lizzie Borden: The Cutting Edge
Explore the dark side of the Victorian era with Lizzie Borden, the main suspect in the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Tuesday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sharon Forks Library
All events in the Bringing Literature to Life series are intended for adults and mature teens. Admission is free. For more information, please visit www.forsythpl.org.
