WCHS Presents: Mariella of Out-West with Dr. Laura Laffrado

Name: WCHS Presents: Mariella of Out-West with Dr. Laura Laffrado
Start: 2026-02-12T19:30:00-08:00
Location: Roeder Home

Schedule

Thu, 12 Feb, 2026 at 07:30 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

Roeder Home | Bellingham, WA

WCHS member Dr. Laura Laffrado will speak about Bellingham’s own celebrated early twentieth-century author Ella Higginson whose critically acclaimed 1902 novel, Mariella, of Out-West, was just reissued for the first time in over a century by Chuckanut Editions. Laura will discuss the novel’s setting in early Bellingham before and during the short-lived economic boom. She will also talk about how Higginson’s already distinguished literary reputation was increased further by Mariella’s being compared to works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and other prominent authors. And she will detail the scandalized local reaction to the book which led to Higginson’s receiving anonymous death threats and, for her own safety, being forced to restrict her movements for over a year.
Programs are held in the Roeder Home, located at 2600 Sunset Drive in Bellingham. Street parking plus accessible parking at the rear of the building. There is room for 50 people to sit in the presentation room.
The Whatcom County Historical Society offers regular programming on the second Thursday of the month, from October - April. All Thursday programs are entirely free and open to the public. Check in with WCHS to learn about upcoming presentations or propose a future topic.