Flappers & Fiction

When a skeptic told young Eben Tourjée he could no more found a conservatory than “make a whistle out of a pig’s tail,” he didn’t argue. He simply visited a butcher, fashioned a working instrument from the spinal extremity, and then established the New England Conservatory. This charming 1890s tour takes us through the bustling corridors of the former St. James Hotel, where thousands of students practice day and night. It is a testament to impossible determination, musical fervor, and the curious artifact that started it all.

To the high-minded critics of the 1880s, Edward P. Roe was a literary embarrassment; to two million American readers, he was a beloved household name. This is the portrait of a Civil War chaplain who turned to the “ministry of fiction” after witnessing the Great Chicago Fire, eventually outselling every contemporary rival. From his quiet Hudson River gardens to the bestseller lists, discover the man who prioritized simple kindness over intellectual posturing.