May Book Club

The Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) will hold its next book club meeting on Wednesday, May 20 at 7 pm on Zoom (Note new day. Book Club is typically scheduled for the third Tuesday of the month). There is no fee to attend and everyone is welcome. Participants should come ready to discuss the book. The selection is Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia Quakers in Exile, 1777-1778 by Norman Donoghue II, which details the 1777 exile of 19 prominent Philadelphia Quakers to Virginia by the Continental Congress, who viewed their refusal to support the war effort as dangerous to national security.

The book explores this event through the experiences of four families (Drinkers, Fishers, Pembertons, and Gilpins), examining the conflict between individual liberties and wartime security, and how the once-powerful Quakers became political prisoners. Published in 2023, it’s considered the first comprehensive scholarly work on this episode, highlighting the tension between pacifism and patriotism during the Revolution.

The Zoom link will be sent out the week of the meeting in the APT Tour Talk email. Non-members who wish to attend should contact APT Secretary Pam Covey [phillyguides@gmail.com](mailto:phillyguides@gmail.com) by 5 pm the day of the meeting to get the Zoom link.