Pride Month Book Talk: Precious and Adored

6:00 reception, 6:30 talk

Join us for a talk by Tilly Laskey, editor of-- Precious and Adored: The Love Letters of Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple, 1890–1918 

The letters Rose and Evangeline exchanged reflect new love, heartbreak, and the rekindling of a committed relationship. Laskey will discuss this rare portrayal of nineteenth-century LGBTQ history, the women's social and political circles, and their poignant story. 

In 1890, Rose Cleveland, sister of President Grover Cleveland, began writing to Evangeline Simpson, a wealthy widow who would become the second wife of Henry Whipple, Minnesota's Episcopal bishop. The women corresponded across states and continents, discussing their advocacy and humanitarian work—and demonstrating their sexual attraction, romance, and partnership. In 1910, after Evangeline was again widowed, the two women sailed to Italy and began a life together. 

Tilly Laskey is a museum curator who has served at nationally recognized museums in Maine, Minnesota, and South Dakota. In 2011 she was awarded a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, allowing her to travel to Italy and spend time in the homes and haunts of Cleveland and Whipple. Since 2014 she has been the Outreach Curator at the Maine Historical Society in Portland.