Karin Tanabe, author of The Gilded Years: A Novel

The Boston Public Library is pleased to welcome Karin Tanabe, author of The Gilded Years.

The Gilded Years tells the story of Anita Hemmings, the first black woman to attend Vassar College by passing as a white woman. As Anita’s college graduation nears, her risk of exposure increases. Anita Hemmings grew up in Roxbury and worked at the Boston Public Library as a cataloguer. Karin Tanabe’s reimagining of this true story examines race, gender, education, love, and belonging in the Gilded Age.

A former Politico reporter and a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, Tanabe is the author of the novels The List and The Price of Inheritance. Her work has also appeared in publications including The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, and Newsday.