Rienzi and Bayou Bend host a history book discussion series about life in America and Europe in the 1700s and 1800s. Meeting alternately at Rienzi and Bayou Bend, this book club offers free discussions each month. To reserve your seat, call 713.639.7800 or 713.639.7759.

June Selection
Pets in America by Katherine C. Grier 

Eminent historian and material-culture specialist Katherine C. (Kasey) Grier is director of the University of Delaware Museum Studies Program. In Pets in America: A History, she examines the history of human–animal interaction, looking at the ways humans have thought about and treated domestic animals and how attitudes have changed over time. She uses surviving objects for evidence as well as more-traditional historical sources. Grier’s themes include changing ethical attitudes toward keeping pets; the rise of the pet industry after 1870; and the relationship between pet keeping and childhood in American history.

Want to learn more?

• Listen to an interview with Kasey Grier about the book here.
• Visit the Pets in America virtual exhibition here.