The Mercantile Library caps another stellar year with its 22nd Niehoff Lecture, which will feature the insights of A.S. Byatt, the versatile British writer who has drawn praise from every corner of the literary landscape. Her latest book, the Booker Prize-nominated The Children’s Book, tells the sprawling story of several families, centering most fully on fairy tale writer Olive Wellwood, in England during the Edwardian period just before World War I.
No word as yet on the topic of Byatt’s lecture, but don’t be surprised if she draws upon a 45-year literary career that has included everything from 1965’s critical study Degrees of Freedom: The Early Novels of Iris Murdoch to 1990’s widely acclaimed best-selling novel Possession: A Romance. The black-tie event begins with cocktails at 7 p.m., followed by dinner at 8 p.m. and Byatt’s lecture at 9 p.m., all of which takes place at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati. $150 for Mercantile members; $175 for non-members.
Get tickets and details here.
