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A new book portrays Abigail Adams as a shrewed investor with the family finances. (Adams National Historical Park) |
Shelf Life
The manager
The talents and passions of Abigail Adams extended far beyond writing the “Remember the Ladies’’ letter to her husband, John. According to historian Woody Holton’s new biography, she was a shrewd investor who did a better job of managing the family’s finances than her husband, a founding father and the nation’s second president.
She followed her head, not her heart, in making investments; she earned a handsome profit importing linens and other merchandise from Europe during the Revolutionary War; and she frequently negotiated real estate deals through a third party out of fear that the price would be inflated if the seller knew the potential buyer was the wealthy Adams family.
“Abigail Adams’’ (Free Press) draws heavily on the Adams papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society, which, fittingly, is hosting tomorrow’s book launch party. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m. Holton’s talk begins at 6.
Multitalented Mailer
Norman Mailer’s youngest son, John Buffalo Mailer, gets around. A playwright and actor, he formerly was executive editor at High Times magazine. In 2002, he was named one of the sexiest men alive by People magazine. Shortly before his father died, John collaborated with him on a book called “The Big Empty: Dialogues on Politics, Sex, God, Boxing, Morality, Myth, Poker and Bad Conscience in America.’’On Saturday, Mailer will take a break from filming Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps’’ (he plays an options trader) to appear at the seventh annual Somerville News Writers Festival. He and a dozen other writers - including Rick Moody, Lise Haines, Richard Hoffman, and Margot Livesey - will read from their work.
The Swaggering Growlers will play an acoustic set; poet Frank Bidart will receive a lifetime achievement award; and the winner of the festival’s poetry contest will be announced. The fun begins at 7 p.m. at the Center for the Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. Tickets are $10.
New this year is a book fair, featuring small presses and author signings, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Details at www.somer villenewswritersfestival.com.
Debut swan song
Aimee Bender, a West Coast writer with a surrealist bent, has signed on with Madras Press, a new publisher based in Brookline. She will read from one of the press’s debut works, “The Third Elevator,’’ a short story about a swan, a bluebird, and the mysterious elevators in their village, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Brookline Booksmith.The press was founded by Sumanth Prabhaker, a writer who wanted to find a home for short stories and novellas for himself and others. Profits will be donated to a charity of the author’s choice. Details on the press’s first four books are available at www.madraspress.com.
Coming out
■ “Open’’ by Andre Agassi (Knopf)■ “Under the Dome’’ by Stephen King (Scribner)
■ “Emancipation: How Liberating Europe’s Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance’’ by Michael Goldfarb (Simon & Schuster)
Pick of the week
Sue Richardson of the Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta, Maine, recommends “The Evolution of Shadows’’ by Jason Quinn Malott (Unbridled): “Five years after Gray Banick, a news photographer, disappeared from war-torn Sarajevo, three friends meet to try and discover what happened to him. This is a story of love strong enough to endure the ravages of war and time. Malott writes with sensitivity and compassion.’’Jan Gardner can be reached at JanLGardner@yahoo.com. 
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