Join author Lois Cahall at Lovestruck Books on Wednesday, July 16 for a night of scandal, secrets, and captivating history celebrating The Many Lives & Loves of Hazel Lavery ! A story that uncovers the  jaw-dropping life of Lady Hazel Lavery, the Boston-born, Chicago-raised Irish society queen whose real-life story is juicier than Bridgerton and bolder than The Gilded Age. Think royal portraits, revolutionary lovers, and DRAMA—Hazel’s love triangle with Sir John Lavery and Irish rebel Michael Collins is the stuff of legend (except in this case, it’s all true). 

Cahall will be in conversation with the New York Times bestselling author Imani Perry who’s recent release Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People —a meditation on the color blue and its fascinating role in Black history and culture. 

So grab your bestie, channel your inner 1920s rebel, and come celebrate the history of a woman with charm, wit, and unapologetic flair.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lois Cahall’s first novel, Plan C: Just In Case (Bloomsbury) was #1 in the UK in 2012 and remained in the top three fiction book sales for that year. Her second novel, The Court of the Myrtles (Bloomsbury), followed in 2014. Lois began her career as a columnist for the Cape Cod newspapers before spending a decade writing women’s, men’s, and food articles for Hearst and Condé Nast publications. Lois is the former Creative Director of Development for James Patterson Entertainment and the founder of both the Cape Cod Book Festival and the Palm Beach Book Festival. Both festivals bring in New York Times best-selling/celebrity authors.

ABOUT THE MANY LIVES & LOVES OF HAZEL LAVERY

In the heart of tumultuous times, amidst the grandeur of Victorian opulence, there existed an American socialite whose influence altered the course of the Anglo-Irish treaty: Lady Hazel Lavery

Boston-born Hazel ascended from her Irish roots to become the quintessential Society Queen of Chicago, and later London, where she lived a delicate dance between two worlds: one with her esteemed husband, Sir John Lavery, a portrait artist to royalty, and the other with Michael Collins, the daring Irish rebel whose fiery spirit ignited her heart. Together, they formed a love triangle that echoed through the corridors of power at 10 Downing Street, London.

Hazel’s wit and charm touched the lives of the who’s who of England, including Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, and Evelyn Waugh. The image of her memorable face graced the Irish note for close to half a century.

“Racy, insouciant, uproarious, plugged-in and turned-on, Lois Cahall’s Plan C is a breathless romp that knows all the best places to go, the worst people to avoid, and the perfect wisecrack to top off every occasion…kick back, raise a glass, and enjoy the ride.”  – James Wolcott, author; columnist Air Mail, Vanity Fair (on PLAN C: JUST IN CASE) 

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Imani Perry is the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University and the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Perry is the author of 8 books, including the New York Times Bestseller South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation which received the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was named one of President Obama’s favorite books of 2022. Perry’s other award-winning titles include: May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons, andLooking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry. Perry has written for numerous publications including: The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s and Harper’s Bazaar. She is a 2023 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. She has also received Guggenheim and Pew Fellowships. Born in Birmingham Alabama, Perry is the mother of two sons and currently lives between Cambridge Massachusetts and Philadelphia.

ABOUT BLACK IN BLUES

Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology.

Perry traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their many embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing deeply from her own life as well as art and history: The dyed indigo cloths of West Africa that were traded for human life in the 16th century. The mixture of awe and aversion in the old-fashioned characterization of dark-skinned people as “Blue Black.” The fundamentally American art form of blues music, sitting at the crossroads of pain and pleasure. The blue flowers Perry plants to honor a loved one gone too soon.

Poignant, spellbinding, and utterly original, Black in Blues is a brilliant new work that could only have come from the mind of one of our greatest writers and thinkers. Attuned to the harrowing and the sublime aspects of the human experience, it is every bit as vivid, rich, and striking as blue itself.

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