Book Discussion

Yesterday I held my March adult book discussion at the library. The book was Eric Lerner's Pinkerton's Secret. My group really enjoys books in which real historical figures show up in the novel and this book did not disappoint. In fact, I pulled a biography of Pinkerton from the shelf to bring with me to the meeting and as I was flipping through it, I was amazed by how many of the photographs depicted actual scenes from the book. Pinkerton met everyone from his era. The fun thing about my loyal group of attendees is that they like maps and background information as much as I do. When we learned that Pinkerton probably had an affair with Kate Warne, the first female detective he ever hired, and she was buried next to him, the question that came up was who paid for her grave. In some book discussions how characters feel is the main topic. Not in mine. Kay said she would visit the cemetery next time she was in Chicago and Harry wanted her to check on who paid for Kate Warne's grave. Then he speculated it might be online. We got into a little, "you email them, no you" battle about. Finally, I told Harry that I bet he couldn't find out. He's a genealogist so finding out information from cemeteries is old hat for them. I just wanted to egg him on. Later in the evening I checked my work email from home and Harry had emailed me. He had already emailed the cemetery and received a response with supplemental links to online articles about Kate Warne. I can't wait until next month to tell the group. That's why my book discussion group is so nifty...The burial plot was Pinkerton's, by the way.