Author to discuss new book on Elizabeth Seton

An author and her new book will be appearing on Wednesday in Perryville, Missouri.

Author and journalist Joan Barthel's book, "American Saint: The Life of Elizabeth Seton," is about the first American-born saint to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. The book features scenes from Seton's life, her conversion to Catholicism and more.

Barthel will be appearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the visitors center at the St. Mary of the Barrens campus in Perryville for a free book-signing event sponsored by the Association of the Miraculous Medal, according to Karen Glines, Barthel's publicist. The center is at 1805 W. Saint Joseph St.

"She was an American original," Barthel said in an interview with the Southeast Missourian. "You do not have to be Catholic to like Seton. She lived by her family motto: 'At whatever risk, yet go forward,'" she added.

"American Saint" is of a different genre than some of Barthel's other books, which include "A Death in California," a book about the death of a Beverly Hills woman; and "Love or Honor," a book about an undercover New York City police officer who falls in love with the daughter of a Greek mafia member.

Barthel said she has been "classified as a true crime writer" in the past, but said she feels that classification is inaccurate.

"I am not a specialist in anything," Barthel said. "My interest is in people. I'm just a narrative nonfiction writer."

Born in 1774, Seton entered life near the beginning of the Revolutionary War era. "That was a crucial time for everybody in this country," Barthel said.

Elizabeth, originally an Episcopalian, married William Magee Seton in 1794 in New York, according to the Emmitsburg, Maryland, Area Historical Society.

The book starts at a pivotal moment in Seton's life -- she was quarantined after arriving in Italy from New York in 1803 in an attempt to improve her husband's health.

After converting to Catholicism while in Italy, she returned to New York in 1804 to find a city that was very hostile to her newfound Catholic faith, Barthel said.

"People talked about burning down her house," Barthel said. Many of the other Catholics living in the city were "mostly Irish immigrants who lived in slums," she added.

The book also discusses some of the loss Seton encountered during her life, such as the loss of her husband and two daughters.

"I want to stress her humanity," Barthel said. "Elizabeth knew loss, big time. She was as neurotic as any mother. She was a profoundly womanly person who was connected to God."

Seton went from dancing at President George Washington's Birthday ball to later being a widow and broke, Barthel said.

Seton later moved to Baltimore, where she served as a schoolteacher before becoming a nun in 1809, according to the EAHS.

"All she wanted to do was teach and live in a small Catholic community," Barthel said.

Seton founded the Sisters of Charity, an order of nuns who "devote ourselves to the works of charity through the ministries of education, caring for the sick, the aging and the poor, wherever there is a need," the society's website states. Seton also founded the St. Joseph's Free School and St. Joseph's Academy in Emmitsburg in 1810 before passing away in 1821, according to the EAHS.

Seton "laid the groundwork for the parochial school system" in the United States, Barthel said.

Barthel said she got the idea for the book from an article she wrote for The New York Times Magazine about Seton's 1975 canonization. Although she said she wasn't initially thrilled about writing the article, "it meant a trip to Italy, so I took the assignment," she added.

"I found a woman who was adventurous, volatile and restless," Barthel said.

While conducting research for the book, Barthel said she came across Seton's journals and letters from the time.

"I have four volumes of her writings," Barthel said. Using Seton's writings, she said she was able to recreate scenes of Seton's life while using real dialogue.

Unlike other prominent women of the time who were married to prominent men, such as Dolley Madison or Martha Washington, Seton was the only woman "who left a lasting imprint just because of herself," Barthel said.

"She [Seton] was a feminist in that she believed she was equal," Barthel said.

Pertinent address: 1805 W. Saint Joseph Street, Perryville, Mo.