Author Stefanie Van Steelandt will discuss her recently published book, Lady of the Army.

If anyone considered an army wife to be merely the kite’s tail, Beatrice Ayer Patton had
the perfect retort, “How high can a kite soar without its tail?” After all, she shaped the
man, fortified the soldier, and created the legend.
General George Patton once remarked that World War II undoubtedly would have
lasted a lot longer were it not for his soldiers and his wife. Those who knew the Pattons
were aware of the vital role Beatrice played in his reaching his destiny, but few others
understood the singular impact of this remarkable woman whom people described as
having “a personality which radiates like a brilliant gem.”

The arduous army life was alien to Beatrice growing up on Boston’s Commonwealth
Avenue, but her adventurous spirit and insatiable curiosity allowed her to adapt
quickly. She became an immediate asset to her husband’s career and continuously
fanned the flames of his burning ambition, walking beside him on his path to glory
while maintaining her own identity. As comfortable on the back of a magnificent steed
as at the helm of a great schooner, she became an authority on Hawaiian legends while
stationed on the islands twice.

Called “a triumph” by Joanne Holbrook Patton and “a unique book in the military
biography field” by the Manhattan Book Review, Lady of the Army has been hailed for
its extensive research and factual reporting.

Straddling the line between the home-and war front, Lady of the Army tells the story of

the General’s greatest champion in life and fiercest defender in death while shedding new

light on a complex personality many remember as “old blood and guts.”

An independent scholar and blogger who spent the last twenty years studying
biography, Stefanie Van Steelandt grew up near Belgium’s Liberty Road, which General
Patton and his Third Army followed during WWII. Currently living in New York City
and working on her second book, Ms. Van Steelandt spent nearly four years researching
and writing Lady of the Army.

Wednesday, June 14th

6 pm

Free

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