Robert Roberts and the Art of Conducting Dinner

Sunday, August 7 @ 3 p.m.

In 1827, the author, abolitionist, and domestic servant Robert Roberts published The House Servant’s Directory, his how-to manual for servants in elite households, making him one of America’s first commercially published Black authors. The most challenging of all servant assignments, Roberts tells us, is the large dinner party. Its success is about much more than good food and wine, well-served; it can be a masterpiece of science and art, a confirmation of social status, and a means of social reform. This program will be led by Gore Place historian Diann Strausberg. Diann has spent years researching the life of Robert Roberts. This is one of a series of programs developed by Gore Place to bring Roberts' life and work to the public. Free. Online.

This program is funded by Mass Humanities and the Bridge Street Fund, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

How to Attend: When you reserve your ticket, you will receive a confirmation from Arts People/Gore Place. You will receive a separate email from Zoom with a link to the performance a day prior to the event. For questions, contact events@goreplace.org.