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Fall 2024 Luncheons

Tues., October 29

12pm Luncheon at Temple Israel

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Charles King

Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's "Messiah"

   

Fri., November 22

12pm Luncheon at Temple Israel

Registration Will Open Soon

David Greenberg

John Lewis: A Life

   

Thurs., December 12

12pm Luncheon at Temple Israel

Registration Will Open Soon

Dava Sobel

The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

   

Fri., January 17

12pm Luncheon at Temple Israel

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Marlene L. Daut

The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe

   

Thurs., February 27

12pm Luncheon at Temple Israel

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Jeffrey Toobin

The Pardon: Nixon, Ford and the Politics of Presidential Mercy

   

More 2025 Details Coming Soon!

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Updated 10/1/2024

Stay Tuned for Additional Spring 2025 Dates!

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Prologue members receive books as part of their membership benefits. As inventory allows, members’ guests may receive a book, and additional books may be available for purchase.
• No refunds or credits will be issued without a minimum of three full business days' notice prior to the event date.
• Pre-registration is required; once online registration has closed, you must contact us to inquire about attending.
• Pre-payment is required.

Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah

George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras, as well as by audiences singing along with the words on their cell phones.

But this work of triumphant joy was born in a worried age. Britain in the early Enlightenment was a place of astonishing creativity but also the seat of an empire mired in war, enslavement, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Against this turbulent background, prize-winning author Charles King has crafted a cinematic drama of the troubled lives that shaped a masterpiece of hope.

Every Valley presents a depressive dissenter stirred to action by an ancient prophecy; an actress plagued by an abusive husband and public scorn; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; and an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies and hatching a dangerous plan for getting back home. At center stage is Handel himself, composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience’s attention. Set amid royal intrigue, theater scandals, and political conspiracy, Every Valley is entertaining, inspiring, unforgettable.

Charles King is the author of eight books, most recently Gods of the Upper Air, a New York Times bestseller, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, and winner of the Francis Parkman Prize. His Odessa won a National Jewish Book Award. He is a professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University.

Photo credit: Mary Fecteau
Publisher: Doubleday

• Guests: Non-members are welcome to attend one luncheon per season. Members may bring with them an unlimited number of non-member guests, as long as the guests, individually, abide by the above Non-member Guest policy.
  
• Registration: Pre-registration is required.
• Payment: Pre-payment is required.
• Cancellation Policy: Refunds will not be allowed for cancellations received after registration closes, and no-shows.

Added 10/1/2024

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