Meet Author Elizabeth Brown Pryor, Saturday, September 20, 2008 at Clara Barton National Historic Site.

Lecture: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. **Reservations are required for the lecture but not the Open House. Call 301-320-1410.

Elizabeth Brown Pryor, author of “Clara Barton, Professional Angel”, will give a lecture, “An Influential Friendship: Clara Barton & Frances Gage.” Learn about the ways Frances Gage influenced Clara Barton to lend her voice to key issues of the time.

Fall Evening Open House Program 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. 

Join Clara Barton National Historic Site for the Fall Open House.  The lights are turned down low to lend period ambience. Visitors may explore this unique home with its open hallways, hidden closets and “bandage material” ceiling and wall construction. National Park Service park interpreters and volunteers guide visitors through the home sharing stories of Miss Barton’s courage and vision. Elizabeth Brown Pryor will be available for a book signing and copies of her book will be available for purchase in the bookshop.

Elizabeth Brown Pryor has successfully pursued two careers, one as an award-winning historian and the other as a senior diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. The experiences have been mutually reinforcing. Her personal role at such pivotal events as the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa and the 1991-1995 war in Bosnia honed her understanding of history, while her analysis and historical perspective helped put her on the front lines of American diplomacy. She is the author of Clara Barton, Professional Angel, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Her most recent book, Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee through His Private Letters, won the 2008 Lincoln Prize, the 2007 Jefferson Davis Award, the 2008 Richard B. Hare Book Award, and the 2007 Richard S. Slattern Award for Excellence in Virginia Biography. She has spoken all over the world on American history and American diplomacy.