Community Ink: Eliza Smith Brown

Author Eliza Smith Brown will talk about her new book from Carnegie Mellon University Press, She Devils at the Door, which tells the true story of two intrepid Pittsburgh sisters, the struggle for women’s suffrage, and a lifelong crusade against corruption. Dubbed “political twins,” Lucy and Eliza Kennedy fought for the vote, empowered women to use it wisely, forced a mayor out of office in disgrace, took control of the city budget, exposed a series of scandals, spearheaded police reform, and launched a campaign that would eventually clear Pittsburgh of its smoky veil. In the making for more than a decade, this book is a lively slant on Pittsburgh’s colorful history. A limited number of books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

An enthusiastic storyteller, Eliza has given lectures and tours for organizations such as the Smithsonian, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Frick Art & Historical Center, the Chicago Architecture Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University, and The Colonial Dames. In 2019-2021, she chaired a city-wide initiative on behalf of the mayor’s office to celebrate the Suffrage Centennial. Eliza is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and studied historic preservation at Cornell University. Actively engaged with her community, she has served on numerous boards, among them the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, Neighborhood Academy, St. Edmund’s Academy, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Eliza has three adult children and lives in Pittsburgh with her muse, a rescue beagle named Knox.