Casemate’s New Brookline Books Imprint Publishing Regional Philadelphia History
Casemate is proud to announce our fall book lineup coming out of our newly established imprint, Brookline Books. With our US-office nestled just outside the city of Philadelphia, we’re proud to share with you all the vibrant stories of this historic region and of the people who lived in our own (metaphorical) backyard.
The team at Casemate has been hard at work to bring these stories to our readers, including Casemate President David Farnsworth, who commented that “Brookline expands upon Casemate’s dedication to publishing quality history, and we’re proud to provide history lovers with stories that come from our own backyard. We’ve been working closely with local historians to shed light on Pennsylvanians’ stories, which we believe are long-overdue for spotlight and broader interest. I’m excited for Brookline’s forthcoming lineup, and to read the truly unique histories we’ll uncover going forward.”
“Brookline expands upon Casemate’s dedication to publishing quality history…”
The driving force behind such excitement and dedication comes from none other than Brookline Book’s very first author, Jennifer Green. Green joined Casemate as Brookline’s Commissioning Editor in January 2022, where she has been overseeing book acquisition and providing her expertise as a local historian herself. As the Director of Education for the Chester County History Center and with MA in American History from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Green is uniquely situated to finding and bringing these histories to life for our readership-at-large.
After all, it was Green’s book, Dark History of Penn’s Woods that served as Brookline’s inaugural publication back in September of 2021. Full of murder and misadventure, it was a must read for Halloween that year. For fans of the first—or those not yet familiar—they’ll be pleased to know one of Brookline’s books to anticipate this Fall is Vol. 2 of Dark History, this time with a focus on crimes, haunting, and even more unusual deaths.
“These books absolutely deserve a home on every history shelf.”
And that’s not all. Dark History joins a full collection of keenly anticipated local reads, from the biographies of Charley King—the youngest soldier to die in the Civil War—to the notorious Bergdolls—renown for racecar driving and dodging the WWI draft. Brookline offers a full lineup of histories we feel the world should know about (read all about them below).
Of the imprint’s forthcoming fall books, Green has said “It’s been a delight to bring to life these stories for a wider audience, as the research behind each title is vital to highlighting the lives that Pennsylvanians, both common and renowned, led to bring us to our current world. They absolutely deserve a home on every history shelf.”
Be sure to follow Brookline Books online for all the latest developments and announcements at:
Charley
The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War
by Brendan J. Lyons
Now Available
The story of the youngest enlisted soldier to die during the American Civil War.
A. Cook’s Perspective
A Fascinating Insight into 18th-century Recipes by Two Historic Cooks
by Clarissa F. Dillon & Deborah J. Peterson
Coming August 2023
A fascinating insight into 18th-century cook Ann Cook’s vitriolic lambasting of a bestselling cookbook “The Art of Cookery” by Hannah Glasse.
The Bergdoll Boys
America’s Most Notorious Millionaire Draft Dodgers
by Timothy W. Lake
with a Foreword by Louis Erwin Bergdoll
Coming October 2023
A biography of the Bergdoll family, a German American family who grew wealthy from their Philadelphia beer brewing company in the late nineteenth century.
Dark History of Penn’s Woods
Crimes, Hauntings, and Unusual Deaths in Southeastern Pennsylvania
by Jennifer L. Green
Coming September 2023
Eight chilling stories of crime, disaster and unusual deaths from southeastern Pennsylvania.
The Darby School of Art
A Forgotten Chapter in the History of American Impressionist and Modern Painting
by Mark W. Sullivan
Coming November 2023
This first full-length account of the Darby School of Art overturns Philadelphia’s long-held unwarranted reputation as artistically stodgy and demonstrates that Philadelphia was more avant-garde in the early twentieth century than previously thought.
Mystery and Marvel
Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exposition
by John Henry Hepp IV
Coming May 2024
Using narratives from fair-goers, this book examines the technological enthusiasm of Victorian society at the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair and the resulting transition from agricultural republic to industrial empire.
