Vol. 19, No. 10	Nov. 4, 1999

Area author completes book with assistance from UD staff

With the creative and committed help of Morris Library Reference and Special Collections staff, Jane Howard Guernsey, of Wilmington, researched and wrote The Lady Cornaro, Pride and Prodigy of Venice.

Guernsey's book is the only biography in English of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, a 17th-century Venetian noblewoman who was the first female university graduate.

"The University of Delaware has been such a wonderful resource to me over the 10 years this project took," Guernsey said. "Reference librarians, particularly Carol Rudisell, not only assisted me with research, but also helped me identify organizations that would be interested in the book. Iris Snyder and others in Special Collections located source material for me, including illustrations I used."

Guernsey, a Vassar College graduate who has worked as an editor and public relations specialist, also learned a lot from Diane Zabenko, trade manager of the University Bookstore. "Diane had wonderful ideas about using the Internet to promote my book," Guernsey said. "She's incredibly dynamic and knowledgeable."

The Lady Cornaro, Pride and Prodigy of Venice, published in 1999 by College Avenue Press, is available for loan in the Morris Library and for sale in the University Bookstore.

-Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay