About the book, "The Red Leather Diary"
Rescued from a dumpster, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman. For 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.
Recovered by Lily Koppel, a young writer working at the New York Times, 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 1920 to 1934, not a single day's entry is skipped. Compelled by the hopes and heartaches captured in the pages, Koppel sets out to find the diary's owner.
Opening 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. 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? 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 journeys back to the girl she once was, rediscovering a lost self that had burned with artistic fervor.
Buy the book on Amazon: The Red Leather Diary
Lily Koppel talk and book signing
The Booksmith
1644 Haight Street
San Francisco
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
7:30pm
For more information, visit www.redleatherdiary.com.
About Lily Koppel
Lily Koppel writes for The New York Times and other publications. Joining 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, The Red Leather Diary 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.
A graduate of Barnard with a degree in English and creative writing, she studied at Oxford and in Paris. She lives in New York City.
