Book description
Westover, a girls' school in Middlebury, Connecticut, was founded in
1909 by emancipated "New Women," educator Mary Hillard and
architect Theodate Pope Riddle. Landscape designer Beatrix Farrand did
the plantings. It has evolved from a finishing school for the Protestant
elite, including F. Scott Fitzgerald's first love, to a meritocracy for
pupils of many religions and races from all over the world. The
fascinating account of the ups and downs of this female community is the
subject of Laurie Lisle's lively and well-researched book. The author
describes the innovations of the idealistic minister's daughter who
founded the school in 1909, her intellectual successor who turned it
into a college preparatory school in the 1930s, the quiet headmaster who
managed to keep it open during the turbulent 1970s, and the
prize-winning mathematics teacher, wife, and mother who leads the high
school today. This beautifully illustrated book tells an important story
about female education during decades of dramatic change in America.
"As a college freshman in the early '50s, I sang in Red Hall (and
have a vivid memory of the elegance of the acoustics, the architecture,
and the audience) and have watched Westover march, stagger, and dance
its way through almost six decades. This book is a sharp depiction of
the journey of a noble school with an unusual sense of its
mission."--Donald H. Werner, executive secretary, The Headmasters
Association LAURIE LISLE is a Westover alumna and the author of four
books, including Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe
(1980) and Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life
(2005). She lives in Sharon, Connecticut.
