All Program Dates

• July 12, 2026 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET | 7:00pm - 8:30pm GMT

• August 9, 2026 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET | 7:00pm - 8:30pm GMT

• September 13, 2026 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET | 7:00pm - 8:30pm GMT

Registration

• Admission for this book club is $20 per session or $60 for the entire series. Members receive exclusive discounts on our programs and courses. Not a member? Learn more.

• Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.

• This program is for those 18 and older.

Description

Season Theme: Imagining National Histories and Identities

Join the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Abbotsford: The Home of Sir Walter Scott, in the Scottish Lowlands, for a transatlantic book club experience! As the United States commemorates 250 years of independence and we mark 210 years since the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel The Antiquary, the book club will consider how national identity has been formed and reforged via history, literature, and culture in both Scotland the U.S. Held via Zoom, each virtual book club session will include presentations of rare materials from the Rosenbach and Abbotsford collections. Read fascinating works of literature and make new friends on both sides of the Atlantic! 

Session 1 — Sunday, July 12: Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary

Published in 1816, The Antiquary centers on Jonathan Oldbuck, an amateur historian, archaeologist, and collector of items with uncertain antiquity. Focused on social life and local traditions, The Antiquary is significant for its deep exploration of how nations remember their past. It argues that true heritage lies not in relics alone, but in people, stories, and moral understanding

Session 2 — Sunday, August 9: Sarah Maine, Women of the Dunes

Women of the Dunes is a historical novel set on the wild, shifting coastline of Norfolk, told through two interwoven timelines: the 17th century and the present day. The novel explores themes of female resilience, superstition, isolation, and buried histories. By connecting past and present, Sarah Maine emphasizes the importance of recovering lost female narratives and confronting historical injustices that still resonate today.

Session 3 — Sunday, September 13: Susan Fletcher, Corrag: A Novel

Told through the voice of Corrag, a young woman imprisoned and condemned as a witch, this historical novel set in late 17th-century Scotland, centered on the Glencoe Massacre of 1692. The novel highlights how historical “witches” were often misunderstood women rather than practitioners of evil. It also explores moral responsibility, particularly through the priest’s growing awareness of complicity and silence. 

Book Purchase

The Rosenbach has partnered with The Head & The Hand (H&H Books) to supply us with book club selections at reasonable prices via their bookshop.org affiliate link. To order a copy, visit the following link and select our nonprofit partner, H&H Books, as the bookstore you’d like to support: https://bookshop.org/lists/the-rosenbach-book-club-in-partnership-with-abbotsford-the-home-of-sir-walter-scott-summer-2026

Learn more about H&H Books here: https://www.theheadandthehand.com 

Note that copies of book club selections are not currently available at H&H Books’ physical location. The last session’s book is not currently available at the link above.

Facilitators

Dr. Petra Clark is a librarian, educator, and literary historian. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Delaware in 2019 with a specialization in Victorian literature and art, particularly focusing on magazines created by and for women during the late 19th century. Petra has taught college courses on everything from research writing and feminist literature to comics history and monster media, as well as a recent Rosenbach course on the artist Aubrey Beardsley. She currently works in the Special Collections department at the University of Delaware Library, but when she isn’t haunting the rare books stacks, she can usually be found reading creepy fiction with her cats. 

Dr. Samantha Nystrom is an avid fan of crocheting, baking, hiking, and analyzing stories. She learned how to do such narrative pondering during her time at the University of Delaware, where she received her PhD in English Literature. While at Delaware, she taught classes ranging from composition to film studies and British Literature, which focused on how identities are constructed and represented. Her research asked questions about the role gardens and landscapes had in constructing personal, national, and imperial identities within 19th-century Britain. Her work on Walter Scott and Gothic landscapes was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Studies in Romanticism. She currently lives in New Jersey and is a stewardship writer at Jefferson.  

Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames serves as Senior Director of Collections Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library. An avid fan of Celtic culture, Ames is a folk harpist and passionate reader of Scottish and Irish literature. When not curating exhibitions, facilitating public programs, and overseeing the Rosenbach’s communication portfolio, Ames enjoys drinking tea, researching and writing about early American history, as well as enjoying one of the many good books on his bookshelf.  

Karen Grossman is the Library and Museum Educator at the Rosenbach Museum & Library. With a background in classroom teaching and a passion for hands-on learning, she began her career as a teacher, inspiring curiosity and critical thinking in students of all ages. After several years in education, she transitioned into museum work, where she continues to share her passion for learning . When she is not hosting book clubs or leading other Rosenbach programs, she reads copious amounts of fiction and has wild adventures with her family.