Former Professor Jennifer Brown Returns, Reads From Her New Novel
Jennifer Brown reading from her new novel in the Regina Peruggi Room
On Tuesday, April 13, former Professor of English & World Literatures Jennifer Brown returned to MMC for a reading of her new novel, The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton.
The reading was well-attended by former colleagues, students, and friends of Dr. Brown’s, who were treated to complimentary copies of the novel!
The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton, which Dr. Brown wrote while teaching at MMC, explores the scandal of Anne Boleyn, the prophecies of a 16th century nun, and the murder of a 21st century historian. From the publisher’s website:
A dual-timeline murder mystery set in an English country manor, when an ambitious professor discovers the long-lost manuscript of a Reformation-era prophetess.
Historian Alison Sage has made a groundbreaking archival discovery—she found a manuscript containing the prophecies of a 16th century nun, Elizabeth Barton. Barton’s prophecy condemning Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn led to her execution and the destruction of all copies of her prophecies—or so the world believed.
With Alison’s discovery, she is catapulted to academic superstardom and scores an invitation to the exclusive Codex Consortium, a week of research among a select handful of fellow historians at a crumbling manor in England, located next to the ruins of the priory where Elizabeth herself once lived.
What begins as a promising conference turns into a nightmare as the eerie house becomes the site of a murder. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect, and it seems that answers lie at the root of a local legend about centuries-old hidden treasure. Alison’s research makes her best-suited to solve the mystery—but when old feelings resurface for a former colleague, and the stakes of the search skyrocket, everyone’s motives become murky.
Alison’s cutthroat world of academia is almost as dangerous as Elizabeth Barton’s sixteenth-century England, where heretics are beheaded, visions can kill, and knowing who to trust is a deadly art. The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton is a thrilling novel, crackling with the voices of the past and propelled by a mystery that will leave readers in suspense until the very last page.
Dr. Brown began working at MMC in 2009. Throughout her time here, she served as the Chair of Writing, Literature, and Language from 2018-2020 and Humanities & Social Sciences from 2020 until her departure in 2025. She taught classes such as The Many Lives of King Arthur, Shakespeare & Film, and the English & World Literatures Senior Capstone.
The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton is available wherever books are sold. Congratulations, Dr. Brown!
Published: April 14, 2026
Writing Professor Tahneer Oksman Recommends Books for NPR, Publishers Weekly
Summer is approaching and two news outlets are taking book recommendations from one of our most illustrious professors! Associate Professor of Writing, Literature, and Language and Communication and Media Arts Tahneer Oksman, Ph.D., is quoted in both NPR and Publishers Weekly with book recommendations for two thematic occasions: the summer publishing season and the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding.
