The selected title for the January Book Discussion will be “Evelene: The Troubleshooter Was A Lady” by Elizabeth J. Tremain. Copies are now available for reading at the Library.
Evelene Brodstone (1875-1941), one of the world’s highest paid woman executives in the 1920/s, was raised in Superior, Nebraska, and never forgot her home even thought her work as an auditor and corporate troubleshooter took her to London and around the world. This biography is part autobiography because many entries from Eveline’s diaries and letters are included. You are there when she describes Queen Victoria’s London, a London under siege and the years between. Follow her life from childhood in Superior through her record setting graduation from high school at age fourteen, her training as a stenographer in Iowa and her rise through the ranks of the Vestey Cold Storage Company in Chicago and London to her marriage to Lord William Vestey.
The author, Elizabeth J. Tremain (Betty Jane) was the little neighbor girl to Evelene in Superior. Evelene heaped affection on her and sent her postcards and souvenirs from her travels. Betty Jane responded and their friendship grew until Evelene died in 1941 as Evelyn Lady Vestey.
Another interesting side note is that Evelene and Willa Cather were close childhood friends. Willa Cather is a famous Nebraska author from Red Cloud, Nebraska.
This book is a great story about a Nebraskan! Get your copy today! The Discussion Group will meet on January 15th to share thoughts on the book. Hope that you can join us.
