Natalie Lemle s+2
presents Artifacts,
in conversation with Bianca Bosker
at McNally Jackson s+6
For readers of The Cloisters and Counterfeit, Natalie Lemle’s debut novel offers an insider’s view into the world of stolen artifacts and the hidden networks that link museums to organized crime, when a woman is forced to remember the summer she spent on an archaeological dig in Italy, as everyone she knew then may now be in danger.
Successful trusts and estates attorney Lena Connolly is asked by a colleague to assist on a case: the Italian government claims an artifact was looted and sold to a museum illegally and is seeking repatriation. The object in question is a cup made of dichroic glass, which would have been rare even in Ancient Rome, let alone thousands of years later.
Lena has done everything she can to put the study abroad summer she spent on an archaeological dig in the Italian Alps behind her. Her dreams of being an archaeologist shattered when her mentor Cyrille disappeared and her enigmatic boyfriend Giamma went dark, but with this new case, the past comes roaring back.
Told in alternating timelines, Artifacts follows young Lena as she falls in love with both archaeology and Giamma on the streets of Torino while her adult self pieces together what truly happened on the dig, now a fully restored Roman villa with World Heritage status. The dichroic cup, Lena discovers, may have been taken from the very site she helped unearth.
Powerful and exuberant, Natalie Lemle’s Artifacts brings readers behind the museum glass and asks questions about cultural heritage and the historical preservation of our shared sense of humanity.
Natalie Lemle studied classics and art history at Tufts University and earned an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. She is the founder of art_works, an art advisory connecting contemporary artists with global companies, and previously worked in corporate relations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She serves on the boards of the ICA/Boston and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. She lives outside of Boston with her husband and two kids. Artifacts is her first novel.
Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of Get the Picture and Cork Dork. A contributing writer at The Atlantic, she has also written for publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Her work has been recognized with awards from the New York Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and more, and has been included in The Best American Travel Writing. She lives in New York City.
Event Details
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
7:00pm
Price
$5
Location
McNally Jackson Seaport
4 Fulton St
New York, NY 10038
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About S+4
McNally Jackson Books
Books. Some 65 thousand of them. History. More than 200 years of it. NYC’s beloved McNally Jackson’s Seaport outpost spans two floors of the historic Schermerhorn Row building, built in 1811. Windows overlook the cobblestones and armchairs anchor each room. Browse the shelves. Bring the kids to explore the big children’s section. Chat to the McNally staff and find your next great read.
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