For their 2019 One Book, Everybody Reads program, the Wilmette (IL) Public Library has a selected a title related to the 1893 World’s Fair. Rosellen Brown’s 2018 acclaimed novel, The Lake on Fire, is set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

The publisher describes The Lake on Fire as

an epic narrative that begins among 19th century Jewish immigrants on a failing Wisconsin farm. Lured by the potential for new life, Chaya and her brilliant younger brother Asher flee to industrialized Chicago. Surrounded by the superficial extravagance of the Columbian Exposition, the pair depends on factory work and pickpocketing to scrape by. The Lake on Fire is a keen examination of social class, family, love, and revolution in a historical time marked by a tumultuous social landscape.

The Friends of the Wilmette Public Library is sponsoring a rich series of events related to the 1893 World’s Fair as part of the One Book, Everybody Reads program, including:

“How Chicago Invented the U.S. Film Industry” by Michael Glover Smith. Smith will recount innovations in projected images at the 1893 World’s Fair, including Eadweard Muybridge’s Zoopraxiscope on the Midway Plaisance. March 27 at 7 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

“Maxwell Street: Many Cultures, Many Dreams, and One Street” by Lori Grove, President of the Maxwell Street Foundation. April 2 at 7 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

“Souvenir Music from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893” by Donald Meyer. The Lake Forest College Professor of Music and a trio of musicians will present compositions sold as sheet music souvenirs from the Columbian Exposition. April 7 at 2 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

The library’s Classics & Contemporary Book Discussion Group will discuss The Lake on Fire. April 9 at 10:30 a.m. Wilmette Public Library

“Women of the 1893 Columbian Exposition” by Kathleen Carpenter. The Chicago Architecture Center docent will discuss the Woman’s Building and the women behind it. April 14 at 2:00 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

“The Vanishing City: Excavating the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” by Professor Rebecca Graff. The Lake Forest College Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Chair of American Studies will speak what her archeological research in Jackson Park unearthed about the 1893 Fair. April 22 at 7:00 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

“The Impact of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition on Architecture and Landscape Design” by Timothy Wittman. The architectural historian and historic preservationist will address ways that the Columbian Exposition influenced the architecture, urban planning, and landscape design for years to come. April 28 at 2:00 p.m. Wilmette Public Library Auditorium.

Author Rosellen Brown will discuss and sign copies of The Lake on Fire. May 5 at 2 p.m. Wilmette Junior High School (620 Locust Road in Wilmette).

These events are free and open to the public. Wilmette Public Library is located at 1242 Wilmette Avenue, Wilmette.