Veteran TV news producer Kathleen Aldworth Foster, who grew up in the Gwynedd Valley/Ambler area, will travel to Ireland in April to officially launch her historical fiction novel about the first female Freemason.
Doneraile Court: The Story of The Lady Freemason is based on true events that took place in the mansion at Doneraile Park Estate in County Cork back in 1712.
“The book brings to life the night Elizabeth St. Leger Aldworth was caught spying on Freemasons in the middle of an initiation ritual, forcing them to make a life-or-death decision,” says the author.
Foster, who now lives in Rutherford, New Jersey, first found out about The Lady Freemason while at the pyramids of Egypt on New Year’s Eve 2000 (Y2K).
“There, a man studying Egyptian ties to Freemasonry told me I share the Aldworth name with the first female Mason. That sparked a genealogical quest that confirmed Elizabeth is not one of my great-great grandmothers, just a very distant relative. However, my years of research led to the birth of this book.”
Foster is now a certified lecturer on the life of The Lady Freemason with the Masonic Instruction Speakers Bureau.
As part of her Ireland book tour, she will present at Freemasons Hall in Cork the evening of Friday, April 14th. The official launch party will take place at Café Townhouse Doneraile on Saturday April 15th. Proceeds from all book sales will go to charity.
More details to come on other appearances, including a reading at the newly renovated Doneraile Court.
Kathleen is available for interviews and is now booking appearances at Irish American organizations in PA/NJ/NY for the weeks leading up to St Patrick’s Day. Email Kathleen@donerailecourt.com.