About this item
Highlights
- The beloved author of Not Our Kind and The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights returns with a story of secrets, friendship, and betrayal about two young women at Vassar in the years after World War II, a powerful and moving tale of prejudice and pride that echoes the cultural and social issues of today.Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore--one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends.
- Author(s): Kitty Zeldis
- 352 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Historical
Description
About the Book
"Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore - one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends. None of the girls in her circle has any idea that she's Jewish, or that her real first name is Miriam. Pretending to be a Gentile has made life easier - as Anne, she no longer suffers the snubs, snide remarks, and daily restrictions Jews face. She enjoys her college life of teas, late-night conversations, and mixers. She turns a blind eye to the casual anti-Semitism that flourishes among her friends and classmates - after all, it's no longer directed at her. But her secret life is threatened when she becomes fascinated by a girl not in her crowd. Delia Goldhush is sophisticated, stylish, brilliant, and unashamedly Jewish - and seems not to care that she's an outcast among the other students. Knowing that her growing closeness with Delia would be social suicide if it were discovered, Anne keeps their friendship quiet. Delia seems to understand - until a cruelty on Anne's part drives them apart and sends them scattering to other corners of the world, alone and together"--Book Synopsis
The beloved author of Not Our Kind and The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights returns with a story of secrets, friendship, and betrayal about two young women at Vassar in the years after World War II, a powerful and moving tale of prejudice and pride that echoes the cultural and social issues of today.
Anne Bishop seems like a typical Vassar sophomore--one of a popular group of privileged WASP friends. None of the girls in her circle has any idea that she's Jewish, or that her real name is or that her real first name is Miriam. Pretending to be a Gentile has made life easier--as Anne, she no longer suffers the snubs, snide remarks, and daily restrictions Jews face. She enjoys her college life of teas, late-night conversations, and mixers. She turns a blind eye to the casual anti-Semitism that flourishes among her friends and classmates--after all, it's no longer directed at her.
But her secret life is threatened when she becomes fascinated by a girl not in her crowd. Delia Goldhush is sophisticated, stylish, brilliant, and unashamedly Jewish--and seems not to care that she's an outcast among the other students. Knowing that her growing closeness with Delia would be social suicide if it were discovered, Anne keeps their friendship quiet. Delia seems to understand--until a cruelty on Anne's part drives them apart and sends them scattering to other corners of the world, alone and together.
Review Quotes
"Masterfully transports readers to 1947 New York to depict the relationships that develop between a young Jewish woman and a Protestant family. . . . Lively descriptions of 1940s clothing and culture complement the realistic characters. This is a vivid, winning novel." -- Publishers Weekly
"The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights is a page-turner about dreams dashed and rediscovered, secrets kept and revealed, and the redemptive power of love. The three women at the core of this unforgettable journey--from early 20th century Russia and New Orleans to 1920s New York, and from loneliness to belonging--will work their way into your heart." -- Meg Waite Clayton, bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris and The Last Train to London
"The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights by Kitty Zeldis is gripping historical fiction at its very best. Three women whose lives are bound by a secret history are forced to make irreversible choices in order to survive. Moving from nineteenth-century Russia to the brothels of New Orleans in 1910, and landing in New York City in the 1920s, Zeldis doesn't miss a beat. She weaves an exquisite tale filled with love, loss, despair, and forgiveness, as her richly developed characters tackle the difficult decisions one must make and the repercussions of those that are made for you." -- Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire