August 25th, 7:00 PM. Do you want to read something funny?  Let’s say, a novel set at a divorce ranch in Reno in the 1930s?  A book with memorably eccentric characters, sparkling dialogue, a satisfying plot twist, and some romance and sex?  A feel-good literary comedy/western?  Here it is, then, the book you’ve been looking for: Julia Claiborne Johnson’s Better Luck Next Time.”— author of Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement

The eagerly anticipated second novel from the bestselling author of Be Frank with Me, a charming story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities and complications of friendship and love, set in late 1930s Reno.
$10 Presentation only  – Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)*
$15 Presentation only  – Non Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)*
$31.74 Better Luck Next Time book signed by author Julia Claiborne Johnson – Available for pick up at Chevalier’s Bookstore or shipped for an additional $6
*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

presents

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME

with author Julia Claiborne Johnson

Please join us WEDNESDAY August 25th, 7:00 PM

It’s 1938 and women seeking a quick, no-questions split from their husbands head to the “divorce capital of the world,” Reno, Nevada. There’s one catch: they have to wait six weeks to become “residents.” Many of these wealthy, soon-to-be divorcees flock to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch that caters to their every need.

Twenty-four-year-old Ward spent one year at Yale before his family lost everything in the Great Depression; now he’s earning an honest living as a ranch hand at the Flying Leap. Admired for his dashing good looks—“Cary Grant in cowboy boots”—Ward thinks he’s got the Flying Leap’s clients all figured out. But two new guests are about to upend everything he thinks he knows: Nina, a St Louis heiress and amateur pilot back for her third divorce, and Emily, whose bravest moment in life was leaving her cheating husband back in San Francisco and driving herself to Reno.

A novel about divorce, marriage, and everything that comes in between (money, class, ambition, and opportunity), Better Luck Next Time is a hilarious yet poignant examination of the ways friendship can save us, love can destroy us, and the family we create can be stronger than the family we come from.

On April 2nd from 12:00 to 3:00 Ms. Woolverton is graciously opening her Windsor Square home for a one on one interview highlighting her fascinating career from budding young playwright to the first female screenwriter for The Walt Disney Company.

$35. For members $45. For non-members.

Linda Woolverton is an American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist, whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed Disney films and stage musicals. She is the first woman to have written an animated feature for Beauty and the Beast (1991),^[1] which is also the first animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She also co-wrote the screenplay of The Lion King (1994), provided additional story material for Mulan (1998), and adapted her own Beauty and the Beast screenplay into the book of the Broadway adaptation of the film, for which she received a Tony Award nomination and won an Olivier Award.^[2][3]

Her recent work includes the screenplays for Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Maleficent (2014), both of which were significant box office successes. The former made her the first female screenwriter with a sole writing credit on a film that grossed $1 billion dollars.^[4] She subsequently wrote the screenplays of the sequels for both of those films—Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019). 

Refreshments will be served.

May 22nd, 12-3pm. Daniel Orlandi is an American costume designer whose work can be seen in a wide variety of films such as: Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side, Trumbo, Cinderella Man, Angels and Demons, The Davinci Code, The Normal Heart, Down with Love, etc. He has been nominated for several costume awards including a BAFTA, an Emmy, and a Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in a Period Film.

Members: $35
Non-Members: $45

Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

Presents

An Afternoon with Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi

May 22nd, 12-3pm
511 S. Van Ness Ave.

Sunday July 31st, 1-5pm. Please join us at the historical Gilmore Adobe on Sunday, July 31st, from 1:00 to 5:00 for our Annual Meeting and barbecue. The Gilmore Adobe was built in 1852 and is located in that mysterious space at The Grove hidden behind tall walls, beautiful gardens, and colorful peacocks. Wedged between Maggiano’s, the former home of Wood Ranch, and Umami Burger the Gilmore Adobe is beautifully preserved and is one of the oldest homes in Los Angeles. It has served the Gilmore family since Arthur Gilmore purchased the house and surrounding 256 acres in 1880. Guests will have full access to the charming museums and on the grounds of the adobe. We will have a guest speaker and food and wine will be served.

SOLD OUT

Members – $55*
Non-Members – $65*

Sunday, July 31st 1:00pm to 5:00pm

Gilmore Adobe, Charming museums and on the grounds, Guest speaker

6333 W. Third Street, Los Angeles, 90036

Windsor Square Hancock Historical Society
Presents

2023 Annual Meeting and Barbeque

SOLD OUT!
NO MORE TICKETS AVAILABLE

Members $65
Non-Members $80

On the grounds of one of the best houses in Windsor Square
501 S. Plymouth Blvd, SW corner of 5th and Plymouth.

Not only is the O’Melveny House a beautiful historic Craftsman-style home it is also the cover photo of our website and was moved in pieces from its original location at Wilshire Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue. It is now the home of our hosts, Executive Committee member, Brian Curran and his husband, Kevin MacLellan.

If you would like more information on the history of the house, you can go here.  https://wilshireboulevardhouses.blogspot.com/2013/06/3250-wilshire-boulevard-please-see-our.html

Guest speaker author Rosemary Lord

Rosemary is an actress and the author of the popular books Hollywood: Then And Now, Los Angeles: Then And Now, and Los Angeles. Rosemary will be speaking to us on the history of the Women’s Club Of Hollywood of which she is the newly elected President.

For new members, the Historical Society holds its Annual Meeting every year to give out our Landmark Awards and install our new Executive Committee for the next year. We also install our new class of Trustees and Advisors.