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1 About the Betsy-Tacy Books and Maud Hart Lovelace What books did Maud Hart Lovelace write? 2 About the Greater New York Chapter of the Betsy-Tacy Society What is the national Betsy-Tacy Society? Is there any connection between New York City and the Betsy-Tacy books? 3 About Greater New York Chapter Events What types of events are held? Who can attend the Violent Study Club book discussions?
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1 About the Betsy-Tacy Books and Maud Hart Lovelace Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly are the fictionalized versions of Maud Hart Lovelace and her best friend, Frances "Bick" Kenney, who lived in Mankato Minnesota in the early years of the 20th century. Maud wrote a series of books -- the Betsy-Tacy books -- giving a fictionalized account of their life and the lives of their friends in Deep Valley, Minnesota. Other characters include Betsy and Tacy's friend Tib, as well as many other neighbors, classmates, and family members. Readers of the Betsy-Tacy books can grow up along with Betsy and Tacy. The first four books are written for young readers, and are excellent "read aloud" books. As Betsy enters high school, her world expands and we see her and Tacy and Tib facing many of the same issues that face teenagers today. The last two books in the series show Betsy as a young woman, and eventually, a new bride.
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What did Maud Hart Lovelace write? Betsy-Tacy (1940)
Other Deep Valley books: Carney's House Party
(1949) Other children's books: The Golden Wedge
Indian Legends of South America (1942) with Delos Lovelace Adult books: The Black Angels
(1926)
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Maud
Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy "high school" books plus Betsy
and the Great World and Betsy's Wedding, Carney's Houseparty, Winona's
Pony Cart, and Emily of Deep Valley have been released as Harper
Perennial classics. The first four books have been released as The Betsy-Tacy Treasury.
Visit Harper-Collins
website, other online booksellers, or buy the books at our host bookstore--McNally- Jackson.
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2 About the Greater New York Chapter of the Betsy-Tacy Society |
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Group members are women (although we'd welcome men as well), ranging in age from young adults to seniors. What we have in common is that we all enjoy the works of Maud Hart Lovelace. New members and guests are always welcome at any Greater New York Chapter event. The late Merian Kirchner, Maud Hart Lovelace's daughter, was a founding member of the Greater New York Chapter.
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The easiest way to join is to attend any event! You can also click here to email us and ask to be placed on the list for email announcements of upcoming events. |
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At this point, we do not charge dues. There are separate
fees for special events -- such as the holiday party -- which you
pay when you RSVP for the event. |
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What is the national Betsy-Tacy society? The Greater New York Chapter of the Betsy-Tacy Society is affiliated with the national Betsy-Tacy Society. New York members may also wish to join the national Society.
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Is there any connection between New York City and the Betsy-Tacy books? Yes! As the Betsy-Tacy books are based in Minnesota, New York City does not play a huge role in the books. However, our city's one shining Betsy-Tacy moment is that it is Betsy's port of arrival when she returns home from Europe. She and Joe spend a whirlwind (and romantic!) time in New York before returning to Deep Valley. Maud Hart Lovelace and her husband, Delos Lovelace, lived in Greenwich Village during the early years of their marriage, and later moved to Long Island. Even after moving to California, where they would spend the rest of their years, both Maud and Delos loved New York City, and returned often to visit friends. Their daughter, Merian Kirshner, was a long-time resident of Brooklyn.
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3 About Greater New York Chapter Events | |
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The Greater New York
Chapter's most regular event is the Violent Study Club, held on the last
Monday of every other month (with the exception of May, when the meeting
is held on the second-to-last Monday, to avoid conflicting with Memorial
Day). In addition to our Violent Study Club book discussions, we also hold holiday parties and other events including museum visits related to our interest in Betsy-Tacy or children's literature.
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Who can attend the Violent Study Club book discussions? Anyone who is a fan
of Betsy-Tacy, whether you read them as a child or are just discovering
them now, is welcome. Our discussions are respectful and enlightening,
and might include observations about the books, comparisons with other
literature, stories from the "real life" of Maud Hart Lovelace, and even
personal memories from the participants related to the themes and issues
raised in the book. Because the Betsy-Tacy books are rich with details
about life at the turn of the (last) century, historical information about
that time period is also appreciated. Each discussion ends with a group
read of one chapter of the book. We alternate between reading a Betsy-Tacy
book and other children's books.
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The Betsy-Tacy Society is far from violent! This name was selected for our book discussions because it is the name of the club that Betsy and her husband belong to in "Betsy's Wedding." They took that name from another book society, the Violet Study Club, but wished to express that their meetings were lively and spirited rather than prim and proper, hence the "Violent" Study Club. |
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