Notes

A classic novel: Jo Graham, a Howard County author is winning rave early reviews for her first novel, Black Ships, (Little Brown and Company) due out on March 10. The book is a retelling of Virgil's Aeneid as seen from the eyes of a young woman named Gull. She has been dedicated to serve the Lady of the Dead, and her special access to the divine allows her to enter a world of men, even going so far as to counsel kings. She assists Prince Aeneas in his quest to find a new homeland for his people. Their journey takes them all over the ancient Mediterranean, on an array of well-told adventures an encounters with diverse cultures.

Writing a novel that meets the challenge of an intimate encounter with a treasure of classical literature is a tall order but one that Graham appears to have met. Her book has already won starred billing from early reviewers. "Historians will admire Graham's deft blending of Virgil's epic story and historical fact," said Publishers Weekly. Booklist cheers "A plausable premise, supurb characters, a plot that originally extrapolates from classic literature, history and mythology."

A modern epidemic: One in twelve Americans (and one in nine women) will develop at least one autoimmune disease. Multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis are just some examples of nearly 100 chronic illnesses in which the body literally begins to destroy itself. The occurrence of many of these diseases has more than doubled in the last three decades, a disturbing trend that many top scientists attribute to environmental factors in everyday life.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa, an Annapolis resident, has written a book, The Autoimmune Epidemic, (Simon & Schuster) that explores the possible causes of autoimmune disease and the cutting edge research that is moving toward a cure.

Portrait of a Marriage: Award-winning Baltimore author Daniel Mark Epstein has written a book, The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage, that explores the mystery and sadness that was the union of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Using sources that were unavailable to previous scholars, Epstein has produced a fresh portrait of the Lincolns, from their mysterious and troubled courtship in 1840 until his assassination in Ford's Theatre in 1865.

Calendar

Friday, February 29

ANTONIO SKARMETA -- Meet the author of The Dancer and the Thief. Skarmeta is a widely translated Chilean novelist whose forte is weaving art and politics into rich narratives. His latest work, awarded Spain's Planeta Prize, is an exuberant love story set in post-Pinochet Chile, complete with criminals, a daring heist, ballet, and revenge. / 7 p.m. / Politics and Prose Bookstore / 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW / Washington, DC Tuesday , March 11

LAURA LIPPMAN -- Have breakfast with the award-winning mystery author, who will be signing her new Tess Monaghan mystery, Another Thing to Fall. / 8 a.m. / Spoons Restaurant / 24 E. Cross St. / Baltimore