Moore to the Story

By Julie Duffin
October 2023 View more Books

Although she lives across the pond, Kate Moore is no stranger to Illinois: Her latest two novels are set here (plus, her publisher is Naperville-based Sourcebooks). Fans of the New York Times bestselling author are in luck: She’ll be appearing October 24 at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn to discuss and read from her new book, The Woman They Could Not Silence.

The book tells the true story of Elizabeth Packard, whose husband had her committed to an insane asylum in 1860 simply for disagreeing with him. Elizabeth’s refusal to be silenced and her quest for justice not only challenged medical science, it led to a giant leap forward in human rights. “It’s shocking that 19th-century women in ‘free’ America could be in institutionalized just for having a voice and disagreeing with their husbands,” Moore explains. “I think it’s an explosive story. What Elizabeth goes through, yes, it’s extreme, but we can see the parallels in our own lives as modern women. I’ve actually been shocked at the number of women who have contacted me to say this is them in the modern world.”

Tickets are $20 and available at atthemac.org.

Photo: Kate Moore