On August 22, DeKalb Library Foundation and Callanwolde Fine Arts center featured author Sara A. H. Butler at Books+Bites. Butler’s novel Fortune and Folly: The Weird and Wonderful Life of the South’s Most Eccentric Millionaire highlights the life of Asa “Buddie” Candler, Jr. and his great successes as well as his even greater failures. Butler entertained the audience with provocative stories of the poison pen letters from Onezima de Bouchelle to Asa Candler, Sr., her seemingly outrageous allegations of their affairs, and Buddie’s continually foiled plans to stop it all.
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Past Event: Books+Bites Featuring Lynn Cullen
The DeKalb Library Foundation and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center teamed up this year to host Books+Bites events at the Callanwolde mansion. The first program occurred June 27 and featured author Lynn Cullen.
Cullen’s novels highlight stories told from a woman’s perspective. At the event, Lynn discussed her book The Woman with the Cure which recounts the life of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann and her often overlooked role in the race to develop the polio vaccine. Although The Woman with the Cure is fiction, it accurately follows Dr. Horstmann’s career and her significant contributions to polio research. When questioned about the role of embellishment in her storytelling, Lynn emphasized the importance of staying true to the facts. “If you do embellish, it is just to illustrate the fact,” Cullen said. “If you are reading about real people, you want to learn about those people.” She referred to meeting minutes and researched genealogy records to accurately portray Dr. Dorothy Horstmann’s story. Following her presentation, Lynn chatted individually with audience members and signed copies of her books.