Mystery fans know actress Helen Mirren as a detective in “Prime Suspect,” but fewer realize that offscreen, she is an enthusiastic history buff. So she was happy to lend her marvelous voice to a reading Wednesday night of Adam Hochschild’s new book on the British slave trade, “Bury the Chains” (Houghton Mifflin). Mr. Hochschild’s book traces the abolitionist movement in England, from its start in a London printing shop in 1787 to 1838, when the House of Lords put an end to slavery in the British Empire.

When Ms. Mirren finished reciting a passage, the audience was so enchanted that the author joked that she should accompany him on the book tour.

The two were the star attractions at a cocktail party fundraiser for the Humanity in Action Foundation, which promotes the study of human rights through fellowships in America, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The event, held in a private home in TriBeCa, raised more than $45,000 for the foundation.

Humanity in Action board members at the event included the former president of the Greentree Foundation, Robert Curvin; lawyer Bernard Nussbaum, former counsel to President Clinton, and Nancy Schacht, who also sits on the board of American Ballet Theatre, Planned Parenthood of New York City, and Smith College.

Guests included a biographer of Alexander Hamilton and J.P. Morgan, Ronald Chernow; the president of the New York Academy of Sciences, Ellis Rubinstein; the president of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Lawrence Goldman; and former Humanity in Action fellow Heather Lord.

Ms. Lord summed up the spirit of the evening. “This is a shot in the arm for my idealism,” she said.

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The American Folk Art Museum is hosting the American Antiques Show through the weekend in raw space at the Time Warner Center. It kicked off with a preview Wednesday night, offering guests first-dibs on barber poles, quilts, and carved bears offered at about 50 booths. Judith and James Milne displayed a scales-of-justice weathervane at the front of their booth, with perfectly round pomelos on its scales (conveniently purchased at the Whole Foods downstairs).

The event began with a presentation of a crystal bowl to designer Alexa Hampton, the recipient of the American Antiques Show American Spirit Award.

“I”ll probably sleep with it for a few months, then put it on a table,” Ms. Hampton said by telephone, en route to a taping of “This Old House.”

Ms. Hampton had this advice for browsers. “It’s the kind of show where you want to go more than once. You do your first pass, your reconnaissance work, and then you go again and pore over things.”

“I love American design and I love incorporating folk art and Americana. What’s so great is the way we feel free to mix objects from different periods, hopefully to great effect,” she added.

One all-American project she’s working on now is the interior design of Trowbridge House in Washington, D.C., set to become the official guesthouse for former American presidents.

“I have schemes waiting in the wings to begin. I want it to look beautiful and thought out, and historically appropriate. The people that Trowbridge House will be hosting are very important; they should have a beautiful place to stay,” Ms. Hampton said.