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Event graphic with a photo of Mary L. Booth on the right and text on the left reading: "Who was this woman who knew everyone who was anyone in the 19th century? Writer, translator, editor, abolitionist, suffragist, Mary Louise Booth touched the lives of thousands with her writing, but her story has been lost. In her letters, books and magazine, I've found the life of an extraordinary woman... - Tricia Foley”
Designer and author Tricia Foley, who has published 12 books on lifestyle and design has turned her experience as a former magazine editor and author to a search for the untold life story of Mary Louise Booth.
A woman both of and ahead of her time, this nineteenth century writer/editor/translator/suffragist/abolitionist played a key role for the Union during the Civil War, was a leader in early days of magazine publishing, a part of the women’s rights movement, a translator of more than 45 books, a friend of writers and poets, artists, statesmen and academics. Born in 1831 in a small village on Long Island, by the early 1850’s Mary Booth was on her own in Manhattan, writing for The New York Times, Putnam’s Weekly and other cultural publications. She wrote the first History of the City of New York in 1859 and was instrumental in bringing the Statue of Liberty to New York. As the founding editor of Harper’s Bazar, where she reigned for 22 years, she was renowned and respected among her peers in the worlds of literature and publishing, both in the United States and in Europe.
She counted among her friends Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. She was involved in promoting the first women’s infirmary and college for women doctors in the U.S., and was a member of the American Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood art movement.
This once-famous author and editor was an extraordinary woman whose accomplishments – whose life – made a difference. And yet, 130 years after her death, no one knows her name.
For over 30 years, Tricia has been hunting and gathering correspondence, period images, first edition books and news clips about Booth’s accomplishments for her illustrated biography and will share with us the truly untold story of this extraordinary nineteenth century woman.
Tricia Foley specializes in all aspects of home design and restoration. Known for her simple, classic style, her work includes contemporary interior design as well as preservation projects, exhibition design, and book publishing. She is currently putting this experience to work curating exhibitions, bringing an 1820s Long Island house back to life and creating an illustrated biography of 19th century writer/editor/historian Mary L. Booth. Clients/projects have included Wedgwood, Ralph Lauren Home, The American Folk Art Museum, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Gettysburg Foundation, Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, Yaphank Historical Society, and Preservation Long Island. Her work has been featured in national and international magazines. Television appearances have included HGTV, The Discovery Channel, and Fine Living. Learn more at www.MaryBooth.com.