Oregonian\, Esther Pohl Lovejoy broke many barriers in medical study and practice during her long life from 1869-196 7. From a working-class background she worked her way through medical scho ol clerking in department stores and became the second woman to graduate f rom the Medical Department of the University of Oregon in 1894. Lovejoy wa s one of the first women to serve as a public health officer of a major ci ty in Portland\, took a vital part in Oregon's votes for women movement\, organized women physicians for service in the First World War\, and direct ed the humanitarian international relief organization the American Women's Hospitals until her death in 1967. This presentation will highlight Lovej oy's career and will invite audience members to draw upon Lovejoy's own wr iting to compare her experiences with the fictional Dr. Lydia Weston creat ed by Ritu Mukerji in Murder by Degrees.
\nPresenter: Kimberly Jensen received her Ph.D. in United States and Women&rsquo\;s History from the University of Iowa and is profe ssor of history and gender studies at Western Oregon University. She is th e author of Mobilizing Minerva: American Women in the First World War< /em> (University of Illinois Press\, 2008)\, Oregon&rsquo\;s Doctor to the World: Esther Pohl Lovejoy and a Life in Activism (University of Washington Press\, 2012) and Oregon&rsquo\;s Others: Gender\, Civil L iberties\, and the Surveillance State in the Early Twentieth Century (University of Washington Press\, 2024). She serves on the executive and e ditorial boards of the Oregon Encyclopedia.
\nAbout the 2025 Novel Idea selection: Murder by Degrees is a thrillingl y atmospheric tale of intrigue\, featuring a brilliant female doctor who&r squo\;s ahead of her time. Set in Philadelphia\, 1875\, the debut novel by Ritu Mukerji\, Dr. Lydia Weston is preparing for the start of a new term at Woman&rsquo\;s Medical College of Pennsylvania\, when the body of a you ng woman is fished out of the Schuylkill River. The death is ruled a suici de\, but Lydia is suspicious.
\nAs the investigation unfolds\, Lydia puts to use all her diagnostic skills and autopsy table acumen to pursue the killer.
\nAbout the author: Ritu Mukerji was bo rn in Kolkata\, India\, and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. From a y oung age\, she has been an avid reader of mysteries\, from Golden Age crim e fiction to police procedurals and the novels of PD James and Ruth Rendel l. She received a BA in history from Columbia University and a medical deg ree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in P hiladelphia. She completed residency training at the University of Califor nia\, Davis and has been a practicing internist for fifteen years. She liv es in Marin County\, California\, with her husband and three children.
\nLearn more about A Novel Idea here. \;
\nQuestions? Contact lizg@deschuteslibrary.org \;< /p>\n
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