Stephanie Schorow 

On Saturday, October 26, at Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center Theater at 2 p.m.,  FBHI author-volunteers and I will give an illustrated talk about the story of four Lowell women, who in 1891 spent two weeks on Great Brewster Island and kept a journal. Our book, A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure - the Great Brewster Journal of 1891, published by History Press in 2023, is based on  this journal.

This free event is sponsored by the Moses Greeley Parker Lecture Series.

Location: Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 246 Market Street, Lowell. 

For more information on the series click here. 

Here's the book description:

In July 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell, Massachusetts, set off  for Great Brewster Island in Boston Harbor for an adventure they would remember all their lives. Calling themselves "the Merrie Trippers," the women created a journal of their 17-day sojourn with entries, illustrations and photographs – like a 19th Century Facebook page. But they did not include their names. When the journal was obtained by the Schlesinger Library of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, only one writer was identified. In 2022 volunteers from the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands, led by Stephanie Schorow, did a deep dive into the journal's mysteries. They identified the women, transcribed the journal, and gathered historical and cultural context of the entries. The result is a lavishly illustrated book that provides insight into the lives of 19th Century women and the history of the Boston Harbor Islands. A Boston Harbor Island Adventure will delight modern readers and scholars. 

About the authors
The book was written by volunteers with the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands (www.fbhi.org) a non-profit environmental and educational organization that encourages public use of the islands, balanced with the need to protect their fragile ecosystem and historic environment. Project coordinator was Stephanie Schorow. 

 
A version of this talk was given at the State House Library in September. See it here.

ATTENTION BOOK CLUBS 

Please be aware that I am happy to speak to your book club via Zoom, particularly about my new novel, Cat Dreaming and A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure, a tale of four intrepid women who spent more than two weeks on Great Brewster Island in the 1891 and left an intriguing journal of their exploits. 

Both books are excellent choices for discussions. 

Email sschorow (at) gmail (dot) com for more information. 

If you are interested in having me speak to your organization, school or community group about Boston's Combat Zone, Boston's drinking history, the Boston Harbor Islands, Boston fire history, the infamous Brink's robbery or a related topic, please email me at sschorow (at) comcast.net

PLEASE NOTE: I CAN ALSO DO REMOTE PRESENTATIONS VIA ZOOM OR OTHER ONLINE PLATFORMS 

Here's what I talk about:

The Tragedy of the Cocoanut Grove Fire
This 1942 nightclub fire killed nearly 500 people and burned through the heart of Boston. Stephanie recounts the events that led to the fire, its investigation and its enduring mysteries. New information continues to come forward and Stephanie brings the latest to life. She also leaves time for people to share their stories of the Grove, making for a moving, interactive event.

Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s most notorious neighborhood
Boston has always been known for its stiff character. So how did this great New England city become home to one of the largest and most notorious adult entertainment districts in the nation? In this talk based on two years of research, veteran reporter Stephanie Schorow teases out the issues that created this controversial neighborhood, giving voice to the players who sought to tame or profit from the sleaze snaking its way through Boston. At turns comic and tragic, Schorow introduces us to the politicians, exotic dancers, and wise guys, and residents brought together by the adult entertainment district—a five-acre neighborhood the city engineered to contain the very porno plague it wanted to eliminate. Meet the nun-turned-attorney who advocated for the First Amendment rights of adult bookstores, a dancer called “the thinking man’s stripper,” and Boston’s unofficial city censor. For these people and thousands of others, the Combat Zone is more than a memory—it was a life-altering adventure.

Drinking Boston: A historical pub crawl through the taverns, speakeasies and nightclubs of Boston.
From the drama of the "Blue Blazer" to the mystery of the "Ward 8," Stephanie serves up a cocktail of pop culture, history and anecdotes. Couple this with dinner and drinks and you'll have event that will have people talking. The talk covers Boston's drinking history, beginning in the Colonial period and continuing through Prohibition and into Boston's craft cocktail scene.

The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums and Hideouts
With partner-in-crime Beverly Ford, Stephanie takes a walk on Boston's wild side with the bad boys of the Hub. The gals trace the history of organized crime in Boston from its roots in the 1910s and 1920s in Irish and Jewish neighborhoods to Whitey Bulger and his convictions. With photos, films and a “mobster flow sheet,” they talk about characters such as Frank “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, Joseph “The Animal” Barbozo, and the Angiulo family. With compassion for victims as well as intriguing details on the mobsters, Bev and Stephanie paint an indelible portrait of murder and mayhem in the Hub.

Fire! Boston Burning
Stephanie talks about fire history and how it shaped Boston, taking a walk down Boston’s “Fire Trail.” This includes the tale of the burning of the Urusline convent in Charlestown in the 1830s, the Broad Street Riots. and the invention of the first fire alarm system. We look at the conflagration that devastated Boston like a nuclear bomb: The 1872 Great Boston Fire Boston. And we examine the Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942. We hear about the history of the inferno and recent developments, including an upcoming documentary and an effort to better memorialize the site.

The Crime of the Century: The Brink's Job
In January of 1950, a band of misfit thieves broke into the Brink's armored car headquarters in Boston's North End and pulled off the largest robbery in U.S. history. The Crime of the Century went unsolved for six years and police only cracked the case when one of the robbers turned stool pigeon. Much of the money was never recovered. Stephanie uses historical images, FBI evidence, movie clips and humor to bring the story of the Brink's heist to life.

To see videos of various presentations, go to the Works section of this Web site and click on one of the books listed. To schedule a lecture, please email me at sschorow (at) comcast (dot) net

PAST EVENTS OF NOTE

The  Boston Erotic Literary Festival, Held on Oct 17, 2020. 

I spoke about the Combat Zone at  Boston's first erotic literary festival, featuring: racy readings, performances, talks, lectures, and an open mic. The free one-and-a-half hour festival, staged live via Zoom and Facebook for free, paid tribute to the art of writing about sex with flare, verve, and good grammar. It probed Boston's notorious past where everything supposedly banned in Boston was on full display. The agenda included readings, performances, history lectures, a 10-minute session on how to write a literary sex scene, and an open mic.

The organizers didn't guarantee everything will be in good taste but they did  promise an event that will be lively, funny, and educational.

Here's a link to video of the event. I am on at about the 30.08 mark.