What did Mark Twain, George Burns, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Amelia Earhart's widower do after losing their spouse? About “After the Loss of a Spouse: Henry VIII to Julia Child”, David S. Martin, Professor/Dean Emeritus, Gallaudet University, writes: "How they handled their loss, their guilt, and in some cases a plan for a future without their spouses, makes fascinating reading for anyone with interest in both the history and the human side of well-known figures."
TEST YOUR WIDOW KNOWLEDGE! TAKE THE WIDOW QUIZ!
See questions below the 18 featured widow/ers or click here to print pdf of quiz:
- Mark
Twain
- Captain
von Trapp
- C.S.
Lewis
- George
Burns
- Henry
VIII
- Grandma
Moses
- Martha
Washington
- Norman
Rockwell
- Mary
Todd Lincoln
- Julia
Child
- Coretta
Scott King
- George
Palmer Putnam
- Milton
Hershey
- Katharine
Graham
- Abby
Day Slocomb
- Frances
Sawyer Wolfe
- William
Gillette
- Hetty
Green
1.
Who
fell in love again over poetry? ___
2.
Whose
bodily fluids after death were licked up by a dog? ___
3.
Who
was declared insane and committed to a mental asylum? ___
4. Who left a restaurant in the middle of dessert when news of spouse’s death was received? ___
5.
Who
“adopted” granddaughters by forming a literary club? ___
6.
Who
earned the title, “World’s Greatest Miser”? ___
7.
Whose
memoir revealed their infidelity and spouse’s reaction to it? ___
8.
Whose
spouse died in Texas’s worst maritime disaster then moved into a house with a
widow’s walk in Mystic, Connecticut? ___
9.
Who
wanted their missing spouse declared legally dead before the standard 7-year
period? ___
10.
Who
left the bedroom and moved to the attic? ___
11.
Which
former Confederate went on to design the Connecticut State flag and write a
letter not to be read for 100 years? ___
12.
Who
became Sherlock Holmes on stage and coined the phrase, “Elementary, my dear
Watson” (hint: he also held birthday parties for cats on his houseboat)? ___
13.
Who
chose to pursue painting rather than raise chickens? ___
14.
Who
was arrested with three of their children? ___
15.
Who
rejected marrying a princess because he fell in love with a household staff
member? ___
16.
Which
RMS Titanic ticket holder, who took
an earlier ship home, donated their entire fortune to a school for orphans? ___
17.
Who took over her spouse’s work and received
threats for her role in bringing down the Nixon administration? ___
18.
Who
wrote: “Why is He [God] so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so
very absent a help in time of trouble?” ___
Each widow/er chapter is followed by questions for discussion. Order through your bookstore or Amazon (available in paperback and e-book). Answers to the above questions found on following pages:
1: (p. 74); 2: (p.4); 3: (p.16); 4: (p. 97); 5: (p. 21); 6: (p. 25); 7: (p.87); 8: (p.37);
9: (p. 54); 10: (p. 7); 11: (p. 103); 12: (p. 44); 13: (p. 62); 14: (p.101);
15: (p. 79); 16: (p.59); 17:(p. 93); 18: (p.70).
Contact author Lisa
Saunders at: LisaSaunders42@gmail.com
or visit her at www.AuthorLisaSaunders.com
Upcoming Events/Workshop with Lisa Saunders
Amazon link to book: https://www.amazon.com/After-Loss-Spouse-Henry-Julia/dp/0692705406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464438290&sr=8-1&keywords=after+the+loss+of+a+spouse+henry+viii
Friday, August 12, 7:45 p.m.
Talk: "Tales of Famous Connecticut Widow's Walks"
Free and open to the public
Mystic River Yacht Club (next to Engine Room restaurant)
14 Holmes Street, Mystic, CT 06355, (More info: amarfoster@gmail.com, 860 536-0066)
Lisa Saunders, author of “After the Loss of a Spouse: From Henry VIII to Julia Child” with discuss famous widow/ers with Connecticut ties such as Amelia Earhart’s widower, George Palmer Putnam (married in Noank); Mark Twain, who had a lot to say about Mystic; the widow behind the Connecticut State flag design, Abby Day Slocomb, who enclosed a challenge in a 100-year-old time capsule sent from Europe during WWI; William Gillette (a.k.a Sherlock Holmes) of Gillette's Castle in East Haddam; and the Guinness World Record Holder for "Greatest Miser," Hetty Green, who is connected to the last surviving wooden whaleship in the world, the Charles W. Morgan, at Mystic Seaport.
Weds, Aug. 24, 6 p.m.
"After the Loss" Self-Improvement Series
Free and open to the public
Bank Square Books, 2nd floor
Authors Dr. Joanne Z. Moore and Lisa Saunders will discuss lifestyle options after the loss of a spouse. Saunders will tell stories of historic figures such as Amelia Earhart's husband and Mark Twain, and Dr. Moore will present modern strategies for developing a new philosophy of life after the disappointment of loss. Saunders and Dr. Moore are authors of the books, After the Loss of a Spouse: From Henry VIII to Julia Child and After the Loss of a Spouse: What's Next? respectively. More info: www.banksquarebooks.com, (860) 536-3795, events@mysticbooksinc.com
