Dallas Heritage Village announces the launch of the Nancy Farina Lecture Series, honoring Farina, a 20-year employee of Dallas Heritage Village. Farina served as vice president for development and capital giving for much of her tenure, which ended with her death in 2012. The first lecture, featuring best-selling author and master of historical fiction Kathleen Kent, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, 7 p.m., Browder Springs Hall, at Dallas Heritage Village, 1515 S. Harwood, Dallas, Texas 75215. Kent, a Dallas resident and best-selling author of "The Heretic’s Daughter" and "The Traitor’s Wife," will be discussing the challenges and surprises of turning history into fiction. Her newest book, "The Outcasts" (published in September), is set in 1870s Texas. Books will be available for purchase.
“After her passing, Nancy’s many friends, colleagues, and family members made contributions in her memory to Dallas Heritage Village, and we decided that the most appropriate use of these funds would be to establish an annual author lecture and reception in her name,” said Melissa Prycer, Interim Executive Director, Dallas Heritage Village. “Nancy was an avid reader and for many years served as the book review editor for Legacies: a History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas. Nancy also understood the desire of the museum to establish ongoing public programs and the need to fund them which makes the Nancy Kay Farina Annual Lecture Series a perfect way to honor her memory.”
Kathleen Kent grew up in Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in history. She moved to New York in 1978, where she worked first in commodities and then for a U.S. company doing defense conversion work in the former Soviet Union. After moving with her family back to Dallas, Kent resigned as chief operating officer of her company to write "The Heretic’s Daughter," the story of her ancestor Martha Carrier’s trial and execution in Salem, Massachusetts, which became a national bestseller.
Her second novel, "The Traitor’s Wife," also takes place in Puritan New England. The New York Times Book Review called "The Heretic’s Daughter" “a powerful coming-of-age tale in which tragedy is trumped by an unsinkable faith in human nature,” and People, in their review of "The Traitor’s Wife," said, “Mixing history, love story and suspense, Kent seamlessly blends true events with fiction to bring a fraught, endlessly fascinating period of American history to life.”
In her third novel, The Outcasts, [Little, Brown and Company; September 24, 2013] Kent leaves New England behind and transports us to the post-Civil War Wild West of her native Texas. As she did in her first two novels, Kent has drawn on history to tell a captivating tale of a woman fighting to make a life for herself against seemingly insurmountable odds and an honorable man struggling to do the right thing, no matter what. As guns are drawn and debts are settled, some — both good and evil — will die in pursuit of their dreams, and their vengeance. Kent is the recipient of the David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction.
The Nancy Farina Lecture Series event will be Kent’s first lecture in Dallas after the publication of the book. Admission to the lecture is free for those who RSVP by October 10. Those without reservations will pay $10 at the door. The Patron Level ($50 for individuals and $75 for couples) includes a signed copy of her new book, "The Outcasts," and a wine and cheese reception in the saloon from 6 – 7 p.m.
“We hope to host a lecture annually and are thrilled to have Kathleen Kent kick off the series,” added Prycer. “We look forward to hearing more about her works including her newest novel.”
For more information, visit dallasheritagevillage.org or call 214-413-3674.
About Dallas Heritage Village
Dallas Heritage Village, located at Old City Park, is a nationally accredited history museum, depicting life in Dallas from 1840-1910. It is one of only five museums in the Dallas area to have this distinction. The grounds showcase 38 historic structures, including log cabins, the pre-Civil War Millermore home, a Victorian Main Street, a railroad complex, an 1860s farmstead with livestock, a 19th century church, school and more. Visitors discover how crops were grown, animals cared for and how family living progressed from log cabins to grand manors and Victorian homes. Dallas Heritage Village is supported, in part, by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts as well as individual and group donations. Dallas Heritage Village was nominated in 2011 and 2012 by D Magazine as one of the top Dallas-area family attractions. It is located at 1515 South Harwood, one block south of Farmers Market in Downtown Dallas. Hours of operation are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 4 p.m. The Village is closed the months of January and August. Regular admission is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors 65+ and $5 for children ages 4-12. Children under 4 and members of Dallas Heritage Village are admitted free of charge. For more information call 214-421-5141 or visit www.DallasHeritageVillage.org
About Kathleen Kent’s “The Outcasts”
A taut, thrilling adventure story about buried treasure, a manhunt, and a woman determined to make a new life for herself in the Old West. It's the 19th century on the Gulf Coast, a time of opportunity and lawlessness. After escaping the Texas brothel where she'd been a virtual prisoner, Lucinda Carter heads for Middle Bayou to meet her lover, who has a plan to make them both rich, chasing rumors of a pirate's buried treasure. Meanwhile Nate Cannon, a young Texas policeman with a pure heart and a strong sense of justice, is on the hunt for a ruthless killer named McGill who has claimed the lives of men, women, and even children across the frontier. Who — if anyone — will survive when their paths finally cross? As Lucinda and Nate's stories converge, guns are drawn, debts are paid, and Kathleen Kent delivers an unforgettable portrait of a woman who will stop at nothing to make a new life for herself.