(openPR) - What do Lucy Hayes, Lucretia Garfield, Frances Cleveland and Caroline Harrison have in common? Besides being First Ladies that most people haven’t heard of, they represented the American image of the “new woman” after the Civil War. Author Feather Schwartz Foster, a New Jersey resident, will be discussing these remarkably unremarkable women – as well as several other “unknown” First Ladies, according to her book entitled “LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities” at a meeting of the Freehold AAUW. The meeting will be held at 7:30 PM, March 8, at the Clifton B. Barkalow School in Freehold. A book signing will follow.

.According to the author, “After the Civil War, women made a giant leap forward! They would no longer be content to remain in the background, with no outlet for their talents and abilities. Education for women was no longer a “fringe” item. Most women after the Civil War received at least basic education, and higher learning for women i.e. high school and college, was becoming common. The huge number of widows and orphaned daughters following the Civil War quadrupled the number of women in the workplace, and many new fields of employment were opening. And the fact that women were so important in the war effort meant that intelligent women would no longer be content to remain occupied with trivia. The post-Civil War First Ladies provided a public view of the quintessential “new woman” that had never been noticed before.”

Foster’s book, “LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities” is a book of voices. In it, First Ladies between Martha Washington and Mamie Eisenhower tell their own stories – or, to be more exact, whatever they want – in their own words and in their own styles. It crosses boundaries between fact, conjecture and, most importantly, centuries. Through dialogue-boxes, the Ladies talk to each other across Eternity, where anything is possible. The Modern First Ladies, from Mrs. Kennedy through Mrs. Clinton participate in commentary. “The old gals talk to the reader and they talk amongst themselves. They talk about their husbands, and their children, and the White House, and the times they lived in. And, of course, politics

“LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities” allows First Ladies from Martha Washington through Mamie Eisenhower to “write” their own chapters, and everyone – including the modern FLs (Jacqueline Kennedy through Hillary Clinton) chime in with commentary. It is an entertainment, not a tome. “Of course ‘LADIES….’ Is a work of fiction,” says Foster. “After all, it is truly a conjecture of their personalities. But it is all based on the facts of their lives, the lives of their husbands and the times they lived in. Most biographies of First Ladies are dull – full of ‘almanac stuff.’ This books livens things up – especially when the Ladies cross the centuries through Eternity and talk to each other.”

Author Feather Schwartz Foster has been an “amateur” presidential historian for three decades. Following a long career in advertising and having written a score of children’s musical shows, she has decided to draw on her thousand-volume personal presidential library and her love of history by penning “LADIES: A Conjecture….” Her second novel, “Garfield’s Train” was recently published and deals with President James Garfield’s death in Long Branch, in 1881. A children’s book, “T: An Auto-Biography” about a Model-T Ford will be formally released in April.

Author Foster has made more than 100 presentations about the “old gals” to various groups throughout the state.

For more information, contact the author at www.featherfoster.com. Or call 908-753-6999.

Feather Schwartz Foster is a NJ author-lecturer.

Feather Schwartz Foster
Box 524
Fanwood, NJ 07023
www.featherfoster.com
fsf@comcast.net