One Book Bradford:An Enlightening Selection for This Year

The fifth season of One Book Bradford is the age of enlightenment, so to speak.

“Clara and Mr. Tiffany,” written by California-based author Susan Vreeland, invites readers to take a look inside the world where Tiffany leaded-glass lamps were created – and not by whom you may think.

The obvious reference of enlightenment lends itself to Tiffany lamps themselves. However, a little known fact is that the concept and design of the masterpieces were that of glass studio manager Clara Driscoll, not Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Vreeland delves into a world where Tiffany employs only single females in an effort to shield his business from strikes by an all-male union. These “Tiffany Girls” create the works that he is well known for.

In its fifth year, One Book Bradford is a community-wide reading initiative in which a book is picked and the community is encouraged to read it. Several activities are held throughout the season, including a visit from the author in the spring.

Vreeland is pleased that one of her works was chosen for Bradford’s community-wide read.

“I was thrilled to learn that Bradford had selected ‘Clara and Mr. Tiffany,’” Vreeland said. “It's a wonderful opportunity for me to reach all ages. That's what I like about community reads. The books selected become a platform for strangers to interact, often people of different age groups if the book is promoted in the public schools. In this way, a bagger at the grocery store and a woman in her upper years can have spontaneous, stimulating conversation, a teen baseball player introduced to the novel in his English class can relate to his coach in an entirely different dimension, a teen reading it for an English class can interact with that teen’s parent’s book club.”

Vreeland was drawn to the story of “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” after attending an exhibit at the New York Historical Society.

“I was enraptured by the lamps on display and intrigued by the story of this highly talented, vibrant New Woman of the turn of the century and her vital role at Tiffany Studios. Reading the catalog of that exhibition, I saw photos of the Tiffany Girls and longed to make them live as individual personalities in the reader's mind. I was impressed with Clara's level-headedness and her socially forward thinking.”
Vreeland creates a world that is a mixture of fact and fiction.

“By far the majority is fact, drawn from that catalog, biographies of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Clara's extensive correspondence to her family,” Vreeland said, adding some characters were invented where others were developed further from what she had read about them.

Vreeland would like the reader to take away a love of the stained glass, but also for them to admire Clara and the other Tiffany Girls “who paved the way for women working in the decorative arts. I would like them to acknowledge her compassion … as a role model for social concerns of (her) own time. I'd like them to see that people of different persuasions and backgrounds can live together harmoniously.”

And don’t forget one of the greatest contributions Clara had – the lamps themselves.

“I don't believe the delicate, highly refined work of the floral lamps would have been done,” Vreeland said. “Since it is speculated that Clara conceived of leaded-glass lamps, I wonder whether they would every have come to be made at all.”
Vreeland said she writes about historical events because loves “dipping into the past.”

“There are so many rich narratives that can teach us through examples of strong yet sensitive individuals how to be better ourselves. An appreciation of the past enriches our present. Find out where we've come from in terms of social, religious, cultural, and political milieus helps us to understand our own time,” she said. “Historical fiction stimulates the imagination in ways of substance and depth, not frivolity. The imagination helps us to step into the shoes of others, which stimulates compassion. Without compassion, then community, human understanding, acceptance of differences, loving, kindness dies before it can thrive. In such cases, human beings begin to fear others different than themselves, and cruelty in the domestic sphere as well as national is allowed to reign. Historical fiction is an antidote to that.

Vreeland will come to Bradford for the last OBB event of this season. Until then, the OBB committee is gearing up for a season of activities to appeal to the masses.

“We are delighted to have someone of Susan’s caliber as a One Book Bradford author,” said Pat Shinaberger, chairwoman of the One Book Bradford committee. “We are working diligently on getting activities planned that will appeal to many, many people in our area. And we are having a lot of fun in the process.”

Shinaberger teased that one activity may be a trip out of state. Details on this and other OBB activities will follow. Past OBB books are “City of Lights,” “Children’s Blizzard,” “Becky,” and “Still Life.”

“Clara and Mr. Tiffany” was released earlier this year. Other books written by Vreeland include “Girl in Hyacinth Blue” and “Luncheon of the Boating Party.”

While she can’t pinpoint one favorite, she listed the attributes of “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” that she enjoyed.

“The variety of characters in the studio and in the boardinghouse gave me delightful possibilities,” she said.

As for herself, Vreeland, who was an English teacher for 30 years, owns a reproduction Tiffany-inspired lamp. She emphasized reproduction.