Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Strong Passions: A Scandalous Divorce in Old New York’ 
• April 14, 2026

An excessively detailed, not-so-titillating tale of 19th-century Manhattan.   The title of this book is a clever double entendre. “Strong Passions” refers to the scandalous divorce of a 19th-century couple named Strong, whose […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Judy Blume: A Life’ 
• March 10, 2026

An adoring ode to the beloved author.    All the little girls — now mothers and grandmothers — who grew up reading Judy Blume will celebrate this biography of the beloved […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton’ 
• February 10, 2026

We will always love her.   A biography of Dolly Parton ought to cartwheel out of bookstores. If ever there was a life story to celebrate, it’s the one about the little girl from […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation’  
• January 13, 2026

The esteemed South Carolina lawmaker honors his predecessors.  South Carolina is the state that gave rise to the Civil War. Three days after Abraham Lincoln was elected president, its legislature […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart’  
• December 9, 2025

A master biographer tells her own poignant story.   Imagine Nancy Drew with a Phi Beta Kappa key and you’ll glimpse the phenomenon of Megan Marshall, who many cite as the patron saint of biographers. And biographers […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: David McCullough: ‘History Matters’
• November 11, 2025

 The celebrated late historian’s advice to writers.    Any book carrying the name of David McCullough usually weighs three pounds less than a horse. His first biography, “Truman,” ran to 1,120 pages; […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘The Club: Where American Women Artists Found Refuge in Belle Époque Paris’  
• October 7, 2025

Recalling a long-ago safe haven for creative ladies.   A few months ago, the New York Times published a piece titled “Pack Lightly, Learn the Customs, Join a Tour: Tips for […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir’ 
• September 9, 2025

How a queer Jewish pauper rose to dominate the Great White Way.   Being poor, adopted, gay and Jewish fueled Jeffrey Seller to become a multimillionaire, then spiraled him into psychotherapy, […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free’  
• August 13, 2025

 Meet the most influential clothier you’ve never heard of.  Women might be surprised to learn that much of what hangs in their closets — the leotards and leggings, hoodies, denim […]

Kitty Kelley Book Club: ‘Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television’
• July 6, 2025

He loved Lucy — and the small screen.  He was Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III from Santiago de Cuba, but you might remember him as Ricky Ricardo on […]