Monday, November 6, 2023

Author Talk with Representative Josh S. Cutler

The State Library of Massachusetts Author Talks Series is excited to host Representative Josh S. Cutler as he discusses his book, The Boston Gentlemen's Mob: Maria Chapman and the Abolition Riot of 1835.

Please join us on Wednesday, November 15th at noon, in our historic reading room to hear Representative Cutler speak on his 2021 book, The Boston Gentlemen's Mob: Maria Chapman and the Abolition Riot of 1835. Representative Cutler serves the Sixth Plymouth District which includes the towns of Duxbury, Halifax, Hanson, Marshfield, and Pembroke.

For anyone who cannot make it into the library, we will be livestreaming the talk on our YouTube channel, courtesy of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Broadcast Services. The recording of the talk will also be made available on our YouTube channel post-event to enjoy at your convenience.

About the book: The Boston Gentlemen's Mob focuses on the events of October 21, 1835 in the city of Boston. As the anti-slavery movement grew, so did the tension between businessmen and abolitionists. On October 21, 1835, a riot broke out in the streets of Boston. Enraged businessmen, merchants, and bankers disrupted a women’s abolitionist meeting and an angry mob soon formed. The group would eventually set their sights on William Lloyd Garrison, publisher of The Liberator - the period’s leading abolitionist newspaper. Garrison was trapped, caught, and left to the mercy of the mob. Cutler recounts this day in history from four different perspectives: Maria Chapman, an abolitionist; Susan Paul, a school teacher; Theodore Lyman, Boston’s Mayor; and Wendell Phillips, attorney and spectator of the day’s events. The Boston Gentlemen's Mob is an exciting read that highlights the early days and struggles of the anti-slavery movement.

About the author: Representative Josh Cutler serves the Sixth Plymouth District and is currently serving as House Chair for the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. Cutler is an attorney with degrees from Skidmore College, Suffolk Law School, and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA in Environmental Policy. In addition to The Boston Gentlemen's Mob, Cutler is also author of Mobtown Massacre: Alexander Hanson and the Baltimore Newspaper War of 1812 (2019). For more information, please visit Cutler’s author site.

If you are able to join us in person for this talk, attendees will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author, and Rep. Cutler will sign and sell copies of The Boston Gentlemen's Mob, with 100% of proceeds being donated to the State Library. As always, this author talk is free and open to all. Assisted listening devices will be made available upon request. Any questions or concerns, please email us.

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Author Talks Working Group