A Nook in My Favorite Library
A writer in the spotlight
A notice went out last week that The Elizabeth Winthrop Reading Nook at the New York Society Library will be dedicated this coming week in a special ceremony for donors, family and friends.
WOW!
This library has been my writing haven since I first moved to New York City in the 1970s. Long before search engines existed, the well-informed and patient staff at the library have fielded all sorts of my questions from, what did an English peasant girl wear in the 1300s to can you help me find where my great great great aunt is buried? They have invited me to speak about writing and publishing on a number of occasions and the Library has hosted launch parties for many of my books, most recently for my memoir, Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies in a conversation with Tim Gunn, a friend also raised in Washington, D.C. during the Cold War.
The New York Society Library has a long and storied history. As their motto reads, they have been “connecting books and people since 1754.” You can read about this special place in detail here, but a few highlights.
In 1789 and 1790, when New York was the nation's capital and Congress occupied the building—then renamed Federal Hall—it served effectively as the first Library of Congress; it was used by George Washington and John Jay. It was at this point that two books were charged out to George Washington but were never returned. In 2010, representatives from Mount Vernon formally presented the Library with another volume of one of the missing books, The Law of Nations by Emer de Vattel.
It has attracted such luminaries as George Washington, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, and Truman Capote… not to mention my uncle, Joe Alsop, who willed me his share in the library when he died in 1989.
In Spring, 2015, the library staff contacted me about tracing the history of that original share back to the first donor. You can find that newsletter at this link. It turns out that the share comes down to me not through my Alsop ancestors which is what I had assumed, but through my great-grandfather, Douglas Robinson, who was married to Corinne Roosevelt, my great-grandmother and TR’s younger sister. To cut to the chase, Douglas inherited his share from his mother, Fanny Monroe Robinson whose father was President James Monroe’s nephew. As the newsletter writers concluded, “With three possible origins involving three presidents of the United States, the quest to find the true beginning of the Winthrop share reveals the rich and varied stories waiting to be uncovered in the Library’s archives.”
If you live in New York City or nearby, I urge you to visit the library at 53 E. 79th Street. You can take a tour and become a member which allows you to wander the stacks or join any of their writing programs or book a special private writing room on the top floor. Even if you’re not a member, you can come to their weekly programs that are open to the public or request books brought to you in the first floor reading room where you will find the old card catalogue, a comforting backdrop for any reader or writer. (Currently closed because of construction but it will reopen in July.)
Remarkably enough, this is not the first time I’ve had a library honor me in the same way. Many years ago, I learned that a children’s room in an Arizona library had created a reading corner designed as a castle.
They wrote to let me know that they named the tower of that castle after me in honor of my middle grade fantasy novel, The Castle in the Attic.
Writers spend their creative time alone even when they are sitting in a coffee shop or a reading room or driving to the grocery store.
So I find it a bit daunting to be honored in such a public way as the New York Society Library has chosen to do. However, in this case, I was thrilled to learn that organizers had reached out secretly to my friends and family for donations for the Winthrop Nook plaque because the monies raised supported the very necessary and inventive renovation to their lovely 1917 building.
What writer wouldn’t be happy with a little glory in a good cause?
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This is so exciting, Elizabeth! Mazel tov! I didn’t know about that library.
How FAB. I think I need to visit it. Well done