From Anne to Ana: A Timeline in Significant Book Club Moments
1634 On a ship headed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, religious renegade Anne Hutchinson organizes a female discussion group to examine sermons given at weekly services. Eventually condemned by the Bay Colony's general assembly, the gatherings inaugurated a tradition of women's analytical discussion of serious texts. (For more info, click here.)
Late 1760s Hannah Adams, who went on to become the first American woman to earn a living through writing, joins a reading circle in her village of Medfield, Mass. The circle read and discussed the belles lettres and shared their own poetry and prose writing. (For more info, click here.)
1778 Hannah Mather Crocker organizes a similar female reading society in Boston to study science and read the belles lettres. Crocker took the radical position of asserting that formal study of science and literature was more suitable to women's dignity than the frivolous activities that society deemed suitable. (For more info, click here.)
Early 1800s Various groups of women in New England begin meeting regularly to discuss serious poetry, nonfiction and publications of the day. (For more info, click here.)
1827 In Lynn, Mass., the Society of Young Ladies is established, initiating the formation of African-American women's literary societies in cities throughout the Northeast, including Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Providence. (For more info, click here.)
1866 Sarah Atwater Denman starts a women's study group in Quincy, Ill., that comes to be known as Friends in Council. The group, which met in Denman's home to read aloud and discuss literature and philosophy, is the oldest continuous literary club in America. (For more info, click here.)
1900 Around the turn of the century, women's literary societies are thriving. Progressive Era reading groups arose from women's reform groups, church groups, the National Council of Jewish Women and the American Association of University Women.
1984 Helen Hooven Santmyer's "And Ladies of the Club" becomes a national best-seller after being chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Centering on members of a longstanding book club, Santmyer's novel inspired the formation of book groups across the country. (For more info, click here.)
1996 Oprah Winfrey launches her televised book club, creating a massive book-club boom across the nation. The trendy book-club explosion she spurred continues today. (For more info, click here.)
Today Ana Smith opens up her book club to Danish film documentarian Lars Knudsen. (For more info, click here.)
ck here.)
Late 1760s Hannah Adams, who went on to become the first American woman to earn a living through writing, joins a reading circle in her village of Medfield, Mass. The circle read and discussed the belles lettres and shared their own poetry and prose writing. (For more info, click here.)
1778 Hannah Mather Crocker organizes a similar female reading society in Boston to study science and read the belles lettres. Crocker took the radical position of asserting that formal study of science and literature was more suitable to women's dignity than the frivolous activities that society deemed suitable. (For more info, click here.)
Early 1800s Various groups of women in New England begin meeting regularly to discuss serious poetry, nonfiction and publications of the day. (For more info, click here.)
1827 In Lynn, Mass., the Society of Young Ladies is established, initiating the formation of African-American women's literary societies in cities throughout the Northeast, including Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Providence. (For more info, click here.)
1866 Sarah Atwater Denman starts a women's study group in Quincy, Ill., that comes to be known as Friends in Council. The group, which met in Denman's home to read aloud and discuss literature and philosophy, is the oldest continuous literary club in America. (For more info, click here.)
1900 Around the turn of the century, women's literary societies are thriving. Progressive Era reading groups arose from women's reform groups, church groups, the National Council of Jewish Women and the American Association of University Women.
1984 Helen Hooven Santmyer's "And Ladies of the Club" becomes a national best-seller after being chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Centering on members of a longstanding book club, Santmyer's novel inspired the formation of book groups across the country. (For more info, click here.)
1996 Oprah Winfrey launches her televised book club, creating a massive book-club boom across the nation. The trendy book-club explosion she spurred continues today. (For more info, click here.)
Today Ana Smith opens up her book club to Danish film documentarian Lars Knudsen. (For more info, click here.)
ck here.)