Lady Bedford's Tea Parlour and Gift Shoppe in the Village of Pinehurst, is offering a new series of Tuesday Tea Talks.

Owner Marian Caso invites the public to attend literary and historical tea parties at 2:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month through May.

Customers can enjoy afternoon tea and hear Helen O. Von Salzen share fascinating stories on a number of literary and historical topics.

Some of the topics include tea with Jane Austen, tea with Donald Ross in the golden age of Pinehurst, a Victorian Christmas tea, tea with General Robert E. Lee and his wife, tea in honor of President Washington, an Alice in Wonderland tea party, afternoon tea with Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit and friends and a strawberry tea in the tradition of the Lincolns.

Von Salzen is a career educator, with a master's degree in education degree. She holds certification as a tea and etiquette expert from famed etiquette expert Dorothea Johnson and renowned tea master Bruce Richardson. She has researched and written a series of lectures about literary and historic personages and their use of tea as a social ritual.

Working with Von Salzen, John Swain, the chef at Lady Bedford's Tea Parlour, has designed menus that will feature some foods historically accurate to the tea talk theme.

For detailed information about each tea talk, interested residents can visit www.ladybefords.com. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (910) 255-0100.

Encore presentations of any of these events can be custom scheduled for groups or organizations. Contact Caso at Lady Bedford's for details.