The Filson Hosts Karen Tumulty as Gertrude Polk Brown Speaker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society will host the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series on Thursday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. at The Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater. Featuring author Karen Tumulty and her book, “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan,” this interview style lecture will be moderated by Richard Clay, President and CEO of the Filson.

The made-in-Hollywood marriage of Ronald and Nancy Reagan is more than a love story—it’s the partnership that made him president. Of the pair, Nancy was the one with the sharper instincts about people, the superior radar for trouble, and the keen sense of how to secure his place in history. The only person in the world to whom Ronald Reagan felt truly close, Nancy understood how to foster his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Neither timid nor apologetic about wielding her power, Nancy Reagan made herself a place in history.

But that confidence took years to develop. Nancy’s traumatic early childhood instilled in her a lifelong anxiety and a craving for security. Born into a broken marriage, she spent seven years yearning for the absent mother who abandoned her to pursue an acting career. When she met Ronnie, who had a difficult upbringing of his own, the two fractured halves became whole. And as Ronnie turned from acting to politics, she did too, helping build the scaffolding of his rise and cultivating the wealthy and powerful figures who would help pave his way. Not only was Nancy crucial in shaping Ronald’s White House team and in softening her husband’s rhetoric, she became an unseen force pushing her husband toward what she saw as his grandest purpose—to shake his image as a warmonger and leave behind a more peaceful world.

This book explores the multifaceted character of Nancy Reagan and reveals new details surrounding the tumultuous presidency. The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty spent four years interviewing the people who knew this couple best and draws on overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, compiling the most extensive biography of Nancy Reagan yet. From the AIDS epidemic to tensions with the Soviets and the war on drugs, this book shows how Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential First Ladies of the century.

Karen Tumulty is a political columnist for The Washington Post. Before joining the Post, Tumulty wrote for Time magazine. She is based in Washington, DC.

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series will be held on Thursday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater, 501 West Main St., Louisville. Tickets are free for Filson members and $26.33 for non-members (taxes and fees included).  Tickets for this event must be purchased from The Kentucky Center Ticket Service. Please call (502) 584-7777 or visit kentuckyperformingarts.org for tickets.

Initiated in 1993 as a memorial to the life of Gertrude Polk Brown and made possible by the generous support of her children, Dace Brown Stubbs and G. Garvin Brown III. The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has brought both nationally and internationally recognized historians and journalists to Louisville, many of them Pulitzer Prize winners. Speakers are selected based on their overall excellence in research, writing, and speaking and are not restricted to historians. The Filson hosts up to five lectures per year in this series.