Last Monday of the Month | McNally Jackson Seaport, 4 Fulton Street | Free
Join the South Street Seaport Museum for a recurring maritime-themed book club! You can find information on upcoming book selections below.
In partnership with McNally Jackson Books—located at 4 Fulton Street, just a few doors down from the Museum entrance—Seaport Museum staff and special guests will stir up lively discussions informed by our shared love of literature, history, and preservation. Our literary selections will be announced one month in advance.
The event is free, and advance registration is encouraged. You don’t have to read the full selection to enjoy the event; everyone is welcome!
October 28, 6:30pm: The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice by Alex Hortis
Sign up today to join the Seaport Museum for the October session of the Seaport Museum Book Club, which will take place at 207 Water Street instead of McNally Jackson Seaport. This month, we will be reading The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice.
Independently, we will read the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America’s formative tabloid trial. At the end of the month we will come together to discuss how this became an origin story of America’s addiction to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials and how The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York—and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today.
Join us for a deep dive into this captivating novel and a lively discussion with fellow book lovers. You don’t have to read the full book to enjoy the book club, all are welcome.The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice is available for purchase at most bookstores. Register for this meeting of the Seaport Museum Book Club today to receive a 10% off discount code for online orders of the book at McNally Jackson Books.
Enjoy More That the Museum Offers
This event occurs outside of the Seaport Museum’s regular open hours. Access to the Museum’s historical ships and introduction galleries is not included with this free event. To see more that the Museum has to offer, ask Museum staff about our Wednesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm, Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets when you check in.
Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets include access to all current exhibitions on view in the introduction gallery space at 12 Fulton Street and access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Free timed tickets for a tour of the 1908 lightship Ambrose are available separately at no additional cost.
Previous Book Club Picks
August 2024: The Waterworks by E. L. Doctorow
July 2024: Remarkable Creatures: A Novel by Tracy Chevalier
April 2024: Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip
March 2024: The Mad Girls of New York: A Nellie Bly Novel by Maya Rodale
February 2024: Here is New York by E. B. White
January 2024: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
November 2023: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
October 2023: Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus
September 2023: Manhattan Beach: A Novel by Jennifer Egan
June 2023: The Engineer’s Wife: A Novel of the Brooklyn Bridge by Tracey Enerson Wood
March 2023: The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
February 2023: Soldier, Sailor, Spy: The Story of a Black American Loyalist by Charles Hoffmire
January 2023: Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
October 2022: Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
September 2022: Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift by Jessica DuLong
August 2022: Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older
July 2022: The Lost Endeavour by John Masefield
Ready for more?
Head over to our Programs and Events page to see what else is happening at the Museum. Sign up for an upcoming talk, learn more about visiting Wavertree, or explore our virtual offerings.