The Poisoned Table, “historical novel” written by AAUW member Diane Michael Cantor is based on the writings of renowned British Actress Fanny Kemble and her life in 19th century England and the American South. The Poisoned Table portrays a passionate rivalry between fictional actress Isàbel Graves and real-life Shakespearean stage sensation Kemble. A tale of ambition, romance, and betrayal, the novel traces their unconnected adventures and acting careers in the Old and New Worlds, as well as their introduction to the horrors of American slavery. Kemble was an ardent abolitionist who penned Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 which is sometimes credited with dissuading Britain from aiding the Confederacy.

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