AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN PRESENTS

A BOOK DISCUSSION: A BIOGRAPHY OF LOUISA CATHERINE ADAMS

"Louisa Catherine: The Other Mrs. Adams" is the first biography of John Quincy Adams' talented and spirited wife, who — until Melania Trump – was the only first lady born outside the U.S.

Guest speaker Mary Hayes, sister of the book's late author Margery M. Heffron, will discuss the book and its late author, on Saturday, May 20 at 1 pm at The Left Bank, 5 Bank Street, North Bennington. The meeting is free and open to the public, with light refreshments following the discussion. The program is sponsored by the Bennington Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Mary Hayes says that her sister's interest in Louisa began with an encounter with a portrait of a young woman at the Adams National Historical park in Quincy, Massachusetts. The author said of that encounter: “Her level, appraising glance challenged me to pay her respect.” Years later, says Mary, Margery Heffron answered that challenge.

Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, born in London in 1775 and raised in England and France, became one of the most famous women in America when her husband John Quincy Adams was elected president in 1823. Yet no biographer had mined her trove of journals, essays and other writings until Margery Heffron set out to bring Louisa out of the shadows. Mary assisted her sister with research and by reading and outlining letters written in Louisa's own hand.

When Margery died in December 2011, two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the book was unfinished. Their brother, newspaper editor David Michelmore, along with Mary Hayes and others, readied the manuscript for submission to publishers. Upon publication by Yale University Press in 2014, the book was praised in reviews in The New Yorker and on the front page of The New York Times Sunday Book Review.

Mary Hayes, who gives talks throughout the Northeast, holds a BA in History and English from Colby College and an MS in Education from Southern Connecticut University. Her career of over 35 years was in public education.

The Bennington Branch of AAUW advocates for quality education and equity for women and girls, presents periodic meetings on topics that support lifelong learning, holds monthly meetings in Bennington and the Northshire, publishes a monthly newsletter, sponsors a book group, supports anti-discrimination lawsuits, and awards scholarships to local non-traditional women college students. For information: www.aauwvt.org/Benningtonvt.html .