Book News this week

Mon Sep 24, 3:37 PM ET
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Volunteers sorting through donated books for a book sale found an abolitionist text and a slave's memoir, both dating back to the 1800s.

The books were discovered together last month in a single leather-bound volume that was clearly an unusual find, said Liza Holzinger, coordinator of the Bethlehem Area Public Library's book sale.

"When this appeared on my desk, I couldn't believe it," Holzinger said. "I was pretty impressed by it, especially after I started doing research on the topic."

The volume contained a first edition of Lydia Maria Child's 1833 book, "An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called African," and an 1840 second edition of "The Slave: Memoirs of Archy Moore."

Daniel Wilson, professor of history at Muhlenberg College, said Child's book was an early abolitionist text that received a lot of attention when it was published.

"They've got something valuable there," he said. "I'm not a book dealer, but this was a very influential text in terms of abolition and convincing people, particularly in New England, to adopt the abolitionist cause."

Holzinger said Child was a well-known author of popular novels and the advice manual "The Frugal Housewife." In "An Appeal," she wrote about the cruelty of slavery and its contradiction to the nation's founding principles.

There is no indication why the books were rebound together or who donated them, Holzinger said. She expects to price the volume for at least $500 at the book sale. The library is not interested in keeping the book because its rare book collection focuses on the Lehigh Valley, Holzinger said.

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Cherie Blair signs a deal to write her Biography

LONDON - Cherie Blair has signed a book deal to write about her life as a leading British human rights lawyer and the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, her publisher said Wednesday.

Cherie Blair's autobiography will be published in October 2008, Little, Brown Book Group said in a statement. The publisher would not discuss the terms of the deal for the book's international publishing rights.

Her memoirs will likely come out before her husband's much-anticipated memoir, which a Blair representative said last month was years away from publication with no book deal yet.

Cherie Blair's publisher said her book would be a "warm, intimate and often very funny portrait of a family living in extraordinary circumstances."

But British political observers will likely be watching for anything she says about the Blairs' reputedly stormy relationship with Tony Blair's successor, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Cherie Blair, who will be 53 on Sept. 23, is known for being gaffe-prone; her unguarded comments on both international and internal politics have caused trouble. But she is also a respected lawyer.

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