Join your friends and neighbors and make new friends by participating in Natchez Reads, a reading program focused on reading a single book that resonates with the history of our community. The shared experience of reading, discussing, and exploring the themes of a book encourages us to learn more about our history and to learn from and listen to one another.
The book, Horse, by Geraldine Brooks is based on the true story of racehorse and sire, Lexington, who was trained in Natchez in the early 1850s by John Benjamin Pryor on the plantation of Adam L. Bingaman. Pryor and wife Frances, Bingaman’s mulatto daughter, established a family that settled in New Jersey and included four sons who trained horses.
Schedule of Events
All events are free and will be held at the Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 South Commerce Street, except for the Geraldine Brooks event at the Grand Hotel on September 12.
“The Sporting Life of William Johnson” by Kathleen Bond
Superintendent, Natchez National Historical Park
Thursday, May 1, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Book Discussion, led by Betty Jo Harris
Staff, Historic Natchez Foundation
Tuesday, July 22, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
In Conversation with Mary Beth Gibson
Descendant of Benjamin Pryor and author of Pryor Knowledge
Tuesday, August 26, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
In Conversation with Geraldine Brooks
Author of Horse
Grand Hotel, 111 North Broadway Street
Friday, September 12, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the Mississippi Book Festival, September 13, 2025, Mississippi State Capitol
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