Ann Hood, a best-selling author, has been named the new leader of Epic Theatre’s Book Club.

Hood’s books include “An Italian Wife,” which was adapted for Epic’s stage a few years ago, as well as “The Red Thread,” “The Book That Matters Most” and, most recently, “Kitchen Yarns.”

She has been published in The New York Times, The Paris Review, O, Bon Appetit, Tin House, and The Atlantic Monthly, among others. She has won two Pushcart Prizes, two Best American Food Writing Awards, Best American Spiritual Writing and Travel Writing Awards, and a Boston Public Library Literary Light Award.

The Epic Book Club kicked off in 2019 with Kevin Broccoli, artistic director, as its leader. Since then, it has become one of Epic’s most popular ways to engage with audiences.

“I really wanted to get another voice in the mix,” Broccoli said. “Now that the Book Club is going to be a strictly digital experience for awhile, I thought it was important to bring in someone else to choose the selections for it, and help take it to another level. Ann isn’t just a brilliant author and generous spirit, she’s also an avid reader. Whenever I’ve been at one of her readings, someone inevitably asks her what she’s reading, and her enthusiasm and joy at talking about books is something I wanted to have her share with everyone here at Epic.”

Hood’s first selection for the club is “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont” by Elizabeth Taylor.

“I have to admit that having to stay inside all day is not difficult or unusual for a writer,” Hood said. “I typically do that anyway, eating ramen in my pajamas as I stare at my computer screen. What I do miss is however is the luxury of traveling. For the past 20-some years, I’ve gone weekly to NYC on Amtrak to teach, sub-letting apartments so that I could stay on to meet with editors and agents, students and friends. Three years ago I married a guy who owns an apartment around the corner from my last sublet, so I’ve been able to enjoy the city even more. I miss getting on an airplane and going somewhere far flung. This former flight attendant has wanderlust, and all my planned summer travel for teaching and pleasure has been canceled.

She added: “My comfort reading? Novels by British women writers – Anita Brookner, Muriel Spark, Mary Wesley … the list goes on and on. While I’ve been sheltering in place, I discovered Elizabeth Taylor (not THAT Elizabeth Taylor!), the mid-century writer that Kingsley Amis called ‘one of the best English novelists born in this century.’ Although I hope you will read all 12 of her novels and her magnificent short stories, this month I’m excited to share ‘Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont’ with you. Not only does it take us to London, but Taylor explores loneliness and isolation with humor and grace.

The Guardian, which chose “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont” as one of the 100 best novels, said this about it: “Elizabeth Taylor’s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s … Much of the reader’s joy lies in the exquisite subtlety in Taylor's depiction of all the relationships, the sharp brevity of her wit, and the apparently effortless way the plot unfolds … ‘Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont’ is, for me, her masterpiece.”

Discussion questions and check-ins will be posted throughout the month on Epic’s website and on the Epic Patreon. Supporters on Patreon will get added content with some thoughts on the book and other exclusive content.

For more information, e-mail Info

@EpicTheatreRI.org. To sign up for the Epic Patreon, visit Patreon.com/EpicTheatreCo.

TAKING THE REINS:

Ann Hood’s books include “An Italian Wife,” “The Red Thread,” “The Book That Matters Most” and, most recently, “Kitchen Yarns.” (Submitted photos)

ACCLAIMED WORK:

Ann Hood’s first selection for the Epic Book Club is “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont” by Elizabeth Taylor.