Museum presents lecture and book signing

Mingling Souls upon Paper: An Eighteenth-Century Love Story

The Cape Ann Museum presents a lecture and book signing by Bonnie Hurd Smith, author of Mingling Souls upon Paper: An Eighteenth-century Love Story, on April 5th at 2:00 p.m.

Through the personal letters of eighteenth-century essayist and Gloucester native Judith Sargent Murray, historian Bonnie Hurd Smith brings to life the poignant love story between Judith and her second husband, the Universalist preacher John Murray. The letters in Smith’s book trace their fourteen-year friendship while Judith was married to her first husband, the Murray’s controversial marriage, and their twenty-seven years together as husband and wife when John was the ‘choice of her heart’ and Judith was his ‘ever devoted wife.’

Bonnie Hurd Smith, who is a native of Concord, Mass., has been studying and promoting Judith Sargent Murray for twenty years as both a scholar and communications professional. Bonnie served as president of the Sargent House Museum in Gloucester, Murray’s home, in the 1990s. Since then, she has written, designed, and self-published three books on Murray’s letters, and published four monographs of her essays.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Museum is closed on Mondays, and on major holidays. Admission is $8.00 adults, $6.00 Cape Ann residents, students and seniors. Children under 12 and Museum members are free. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information please call: (978) 283-0455. Additional information can be found online at www.capeannmuseum.org.