Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian at Glendale Public Library

GLENDALE, CA — On September 17, 2014, at 7pm, Anthony Slide will be presenting the story of Aurora Mardiganian in his revised edition of Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian at the Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street in Glendale. The presentation will be in English.

Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian is based on a real-life tale of a teenage Armenian girl (Aurora Mardiganian) who was caught up in the 1915 Armenian Genocide. She witnessed the murder of her family and was forced to march over fourteen hundred miles, during which she was kidnapped and sold into the slave markets of Anatolia. Mardiganian escaped to Tiflis (modern Tbilisi , Georgia ), then to St. Petersburg , from where she traveled to Oslo and finally, with the help of Near East Relief , to New York . Her story was first published in a book form and then was used as the basis for a 1918 feature film Auction of Souls. The revised edition of Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian by Anthony Slide contains an annotated reprint of Mardiganian’s original narrative and, for the first time the full screenplay. In his introduction, Slide recounts the making of the film and Mardiganian’s life in the United States, involving a cast of characters including Henry Morgenthau, Mrs. George W. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Oliver Harriman, and film pioneer William Selig. The introduction also includes original comments by Aurora Mardiganian, whom Slide interviewed before her death.

Anthony Slide is the former film historian of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has published more than seventy books on popular entertainment, including Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine and Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins (both published by University Press of Mississippi). Aside from his work as a writer and a historian, he has directed a number of documentaries relating to silent film history, including the feature-length The Silent Feminists.

Admission is free. Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street at The Market Place parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk.

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