A Walking & Reading Tour with Author Ellen Meeropol

Join local author Ellen Meeropol on a walk and talk around the former Northampton State Hospital and the Village Hill neighborhood, the setting and inspiration for her new novel. The Lost Women of Azalea Court begins one November morning, when 88-year-old Iris Blum goes missing from a fictional six-bungalow development on the grounds of the long-closed hospital, where her husband was the last head psychiatrist. Their daughter, the neighbors, and police detective McPhee suspect Dr. Blum of being involved in Iris’s disappearance and dig into his past. The neighbors, family, and detective narrate this story together, uncovering ghosts, secrets, and lies.

At historical landmarks, the group will hear short scenes from the novel set in those places, and think together about the challenge of both honoring our local history and telling a good story.

Ellen is the author of five novels, including Her Sister’s Tattoo and Kinship of Clover. She lives in the Village Hill neighborhood. Books can be pre-ordered through the Broadside Bookshop and will be signed after the walk.