{"product_id":"the-red-leather-diary-reclaiming-a-life-through-the-pages-of-a-lost-journal-isbn-9780061256776","title":"The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“A world straight from the pages of an F. Scott\u003cbr\u003eFitzgerald novel. . . . An extraordinary story about coming of age, following\u003cbr\u003eyour dreams and discovering (or rediscovering) who you are, were and want to\u003cbr\u003ebe.” — \u003cem\u003eParade\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRescued from a Dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpening the tarnished brass lock of a red leather diary found in the basement of a New York City apartment building, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e writer Lily Koppel embarked on a journey into the past. Compelled by the hopes and heartaches captured in the pages, Koppel set out to find the diary’s owner, a 90-year old woman named Florence. Eventually reunited with her diary, Florence ventured back to the girl she once was, rediscovering a lost self that burned with artistic fervor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\tJoining intimate interviews with original diary entries, \u003cem\u003eThe Red Leather Diary\u003c\/em\u003e is an evocative and entrancing work that recreates the romance and glitter, sophistication and promise, of 1930s New York, bringing to life the true story of a precocious young woman who dared to follow her dreams. \u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eRescued from a Dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor more than half a century, the red leather diary lay silent, languishing inside a steamer trunk, its worn cover crumbling into little flakes. When a cleaning sweep of a New York City apartment building brings this lost treasure to light, both the diary and its owner are given a second life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecovered by Lily Koppel, a young writer working at the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, the journal paints a vivid picture of 1930s New York—horseback riding in Central Park, summer excursions to the Catskills, and an obsession with a famous avant-garde actress. From 1929 to 1934, not a single day's entry is skipped.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpening the tarnished brass lock, Koppel embarks on a journey into the past, traveling to a New York in which women of privilege meet for tea at Schrafft's, dance at the Hotel Pennsylvania, and toast the night at El Morocco. As she turns the diary's brittle pages, Koppel is captivated by the headstrong young woman whose intimate thoughts and emotions fill the pale blue lines. Who was this lovely ingénue who adored the works of Baudelaire and Jane Austen, who was sexually curious beyond her years, who traveled to Rome, Paris, and London?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCompelled by the hopes and heartaches captured in the pages, Koppel sets out to find the diary's owner, her only clue the inscription on the frontispiece—\"This book belongs to . . . \u003cem\u003eFlorence Wolfson\u003c\/em\u003e.\" A chance phone call from a private investigator leads Koppel to Florence, a ninety-year-old woman living with her husband of sixty-seven years. Reunited with her diary, Florence ventures back to the girl she once was, rediscovering a lost self that burned with artistic fervor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoining intimate interviews with original diary entries, Koppel reveals the world of a New York teenager obsessed with the state of her soul and her appearance, and muses on the serendipitous chain of events that returned the lost journal to its owner. Evocative and entrancing, \u003cem\u003eThe Red Leather Diary\u003c\/em\u003e re-creates the romance and glitter, sophistication and promise, of 1930s New York, bringing to life the true story of a precocious young woman who dared to follow her dreams.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Skillful reporting, fine prose and [an] excellent eye for period detail. . . . A story about not one but two lovable characters—and the city that brought them together.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Combining the diary entries as well as Kopple’s intimate interviews with Howitt, the book paints a glamorous and poetic picture of what life was like for a young woman of that era whose love of exploration, writing, music, and theater put her at odds with her mother’s hopes for her future. . . . THE RED LEATHER DIARY reinforces the lesson that it’s never too late to forge new relationships, or simply regain your easily forgotten teenage ambitions.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLadies’ Home Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[An] amazing story. . . . A highbrow fairy tale. . . . Much of the book’s emotional power derives from the drama of an old woman reclaiming a past that was almost lost to her. . . . Koppel writes with flair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mesmerizing. Koppel evokes 1930s Manhattan nicely, but it’s Wolfson herself who makes the book remarkable. For readers whose experience of the Deco era is limited to movies starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the story of the free-spirited Wolfson may read like a trial run for the sexual revolution of the 1960s.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichmond Times-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In \u003cem\u003eThe Red Leather Diary\u003c\/em\u003e, Lily Koppel finds an old journal in a Dumpster, gets lost in its rich take on 1930s New York and, improbably, tracks down the now-90-year-old woman whose life—real and imagined—fills its worn pages.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReader's Digest (Editors' Choice)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Koppel’s love of New York is obvious in the details she draws from Florence’s diary, which show how the city has changed in ways both big and small. An entertaining and enjoyable work.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A world straight from the pages of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. . . . \u003cem\u003eThe Red Leather Diary\u003c\/em\u003e is Koppel’s tribute to both the tempestuous girl she came to know on paper and the older, more even-tempered women she grew to love in real life. It’s an extraordinary story about coming of age, following your dreams and discovering (or rediscovering) who you are, were and want to be.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParade\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Offers a glimpse of a bygone era in Manhattan—all the lovelier because Koppel was able to track down the writer, now a glamorous-looking Connecticut resident in her 90s.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A novelistic biography. . . . Conjures up a romantic version of the Manhattan of Howitt’s youth.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e writer Lily Koppel’s \u003cem\u003eThe Red Leather Diary\u003c\/em\u003e melds three life-affirming subjects—Florence Wolfson’s journal of life in 1930s Manhattan, Koppel’s discovery of it in a Dumpster decades later, and the meeting of the two women—into one enchanting memoir.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A window into a fascinating and privileged world. . . . Rewarding.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sparked by a felicitous discovery in an Upper West Side dumpster, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/em\u003ewriter Lily Koppel spins an enthralling true fairy tale about a Depression-era ingénue.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A fascinating book—inventive and inspiring.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eErica Jong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fear of Flying\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Florence’s life reads like E.L. Doctorow’s \u003cem\u003eRagtime\u003c\/em\u003e in places, with all the famous paths crossed and situations experienced; while descriptions of city life recall Marjorie Hart’s \u003cem\u003eSummer at Tiffany\u003c\/em\u003e... Together, Koppel and Florence take readers through a world dizzy with new ideas, rhythms and inventions.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“After a front-page story appeared in the\u003cem\u003e New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e Sunday City section, interest in Florence’s fascinating story prompted the author to write a full-length book that works as both a biography and a spellbinding glimpse into a vanished era.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889157173477,"sku":"NP9780061256776","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061256776.jpg?v=1730230639","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-red-leather-diary-reclaiming-a-life-through-the-pages-of-a-lost-journal-isbn-9780061256776","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}