Meet Jessica Francis Kane! Author of Fonseca and Rules for Visiting

Wed Oct 01 2025 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm UTC-07:00

BookShop West Portal | San Francisco

BookShop West Portal
Publisher/HostBookShop West Portal
Meet Jessica Francis Kane! Author of Fonseca and Rules for Visiting
Advertisement
Join Jessica Francis Kane for a discussion Fonseca, a beautifully fictionalized account of a lesser known adventure of Penelope Fitzgerald
About this Event

This event is free to attend. Seating is first come, first served.

Meet the author, find out about a terrific new book, ask questions and hear directly from the author, and get personalized signed books!


You don't need to have read the book beforehand to enjoy the event, but we do recommend reserving your copy ahead of time:

We at Bookshop West Portal would read anything written by Jessica Francis Kane (author of ), but we're especially excited to celebrate her latest historical fiction novel Fonseca. Join us for a discussion of this beautifully fictionalized account of a lesser known adventure of Penelope Fitzgerald (award-winning author of The Bookshop, Offshore, The Blue Flower).


The story acclaimed English author Penelope Fitzgerald never wrote, of her real-life journey to Mexico with her son in search of a much-needed inheritance, by Jessica Francis Kane, bestselling author of Rules for Visiting

Winter 1952. Penelope Fitzgerald's husband is a struggling alcoholic, their literary journal is on the brink, and she is pregnant with their third child. When she receives a letter from two elderly sisters named Delaney, distant relations with a silver mine, who dangle the possibility of an inheritance, she recognizes it as a creative and practical lifeline.

Jessica Francis Kane's brilliantly imagined Fonseca fictionalizes Penelope's real and momentous trip to northern Mexico in pursuit of this legacy. She leaves her two-year-old, Tina, with relatives and sails for New York with her six-year-old, Valpy, in tow. From there, mother and son take a bus all the way to . . . Fonseca.

But when they arrive, nothing goes to plan. There are others vying for the Delaney money, and for three months, from Day of the Dead to Candlemas, Penelope must navigate a quixotic household and guide her impressionable son. More and more people frequent the house: an ambitious American couple, various local entrepreneurs and artists (including Edward Hopper and his wife, Jo), and finally a handsome stranger who claims he is a Delaney.

With heart, humor, and a deep understanding of her subject that has characterized the range of her work her whole career, Kane (whose work "could have been written by Jane Austen's great great-great-granddaughter" -- Oprah Daily) has written much more than an homage: Fonseca is an enthralling world of its own as well as a stunning fictionalization of a season in Fitzgerald's life.

Jessica Francis Kane is the author of the national bestseller Rules for Visiting, This Close, The Report, and Bending Heaven. This Close was longlisted for The Story Prize, The Report was a finalist for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and Rules for Visiting was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Her stories and essays have appeared in many publications, including Harper's Magazine, The New York Times, Slate, Virginia Quarterly Review, McSweeney's, ZYZZYVA, and Granta. She lives in New York City and Connecticut.


Agenda

๐Ÿ•‘: 06:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Buy the book, browse the shelfs, snag your seat!
๐Ÿ•‘: 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Hear from the author + Q&A
๐Ÿ•‘: 08:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Signing Line - Get your copy personalized by the author
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

BookShop West Portal, 80 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, United States

Tickets

USD 0.00

Sharing is Caring:

More Events in San Francisco

October Happy Hour
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm October Happy Hour

Zeitgeist SF

CELESTIAL HOTTIES (No Cover!)
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm CELESTIAL HOTTIES (No Cover!)

1601 Fillmore Street San Francisco, CA 94115-3517

Yom Kippur Services at The Fairmont Hotel
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm Yom Kippur Services at The Fairmont Hotel

The Fairmont Hotel

Yom Kippur Services
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm Yom Kippur Services

1300 Shrader St, San Francisco, CA, United States, California 94117

WEDNESDAY themed speed dating | Singles Ages 25-45
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm WEDNESDAY themed speed dating | Singles Ages 25-45

Mr. Mahjongโ€™s

Laughs by the Glass SF
Wed, 01 Oct at 06:30 pm Laughs by the Glass SF

Executive Order Bar & Lounge

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Wed, 01 Oct at 07:30 pm Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

3290 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA

Brent Weinbach at Punch Line San Francisco
Wed, 01 Oct at 07:30 pm Brent Weinbach at Punch Line San Francisco

Punch Line San Francisco

Laughs At Bar at Cobbs Comedy Club
Wed, 01 Oct at 07:30 pm Laughs At Bar at Cobbs Comedy Club

Cobbs Comedy Club

Frank Ocean - Blonde : LISTEN | Envelop SF (7:30pm)
Wed, 01 Oct at 07:30 pm Frank Ocean - Blonde : LISTEN | Envelop SF (7:30pm)

Envelop SF

Gavin James at The Independent
Wed, 01 Oct at 08:00 pm Gavin James at The Independent

The Independent

Quadeca at Great American Music Hall
Wed, 01 Oct at 08:00 pm Quadeca at Great American Music Hall

Great American Music Hall

San Francisco is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore San Francisco Events