| Author: | Patricia Friedberg | ISBN: | 9781568251325 |
| Publisher: | Rainbow Books, Inc. | Publication: | March 21, 2014 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Patricia Friedberg |
| ISBN: | 9781568251325 |
| Publisher: | Rainbow Books, Inc. |
| Publication: | March 21, 2014 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
21 Aldgate is character-driven historical fiction set in pre-WWII London’s Jewish East End and fashionable Chelsea, as well as in Germany and France. It is a fictionalized story of the relationship between the artist Paul Maze and his young married assistant Clara during and after the writing of his memoir of WWI.
First and foremost, however, 21 Aldgate is about a place in time, a place that no longer exists except in the rapidly fading memories of disappearing generations. It tells a story of class distinction, people and their traditions, a family and its fate, a country and its fight against fascism, and a woman with a secret she must take to her grave.
Synopsis
When young Clara Simon suddenly quit her steady job in Ernest Maxwell Abbott's law firm over his increasingly shabby treatment of Jewish clients, she soon realized the seriousness of her actions. Giving up any job in struggling, post-WWI London meant taking a chance.
Clara knew her family at 21 Aldgate would not be supportive. With that in mind she did the only thing a Londoner could do: she looked for a quiet place to have a cup of tea and think over her hasty decision. A coincidental meeting with a former Abbott employee resulted in the suggestion of a job offer in Chelsea.
Clara, reluctant to consider venturing into affluent Chelsea, finally agreed to meet with the important French artist, Paul Maze, who needed an assistant to help write his memoir of his work as a field artist during the First World War. Their working relationship ignited a passionate love that forever changed and haunted her.
On the tides of political and social chaos prior to the Second World War, Clara was forced to make decisions that risked both her life and her marriage.
Praise for 21 Aldgate—
". . . while some of the thoughts and actions in 21 Aldgate are indeed fiction, there is a strong element of reality present throughout. hat and the integrity of all the main characters makes 21 Aldgate a standout.
"Alas, for me, The Oriental Wife simply paled in comparison to 21 Aldgate. . . . " —Donna Bird, Sleeping Hedgehog: A Journal of An Untraditional Nature
About the Author, Patricia Friedberg—
Patricia Friedberg was born in London, attended The Henrietta Barnett School and continued her studies at The London School of Journalism. She married a South African doctor, who was furthering his studies in London, and they left for Southern Africa, living for ten years in what was then The Rhodesias, both North and South, first in Wankie (renamed Hwange) and later in Salisbury (renamed Harare after independence), Zimbabwe.
While living in Wankie, Rhodesia she worked as Clerk of the Court in the Office of the Native Commissioner, dealing with tribal and European law, before moving to live in the city of Salisbury (Harare) in Rhodesia, where she joined the newly formed TV station RTV (Rhodesian Television). Her experiences in Hwange allowed her to travel freely into the bush, taking along a photographer. From those interviews she produced a number of Tribal Documentaries and wrote articles to the Rhodesian Herald.
Political unrest intensified in Rhodesia, and, for the safety of their children, the family reluctantly left to settle in the U.S. -- first in Baltimore and then in Milwaukee. In the years that followed, she travelled extensively with her husband, then a professor of cardiology, to major cities in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
Patricia attended a playwriting course at Marquette University where her first play, “Masquerade,” won the play writer’s award. She collaborated on a series of children's books, titled The Alfred Stories, adventures taken from her reminiscences of her own childhood in London during World War II. In keeping with that theme she composed the story and music for a musical, “Twenty-One Aldgate.”
As Moderator at NBC affiliate WMTJ-TV Milwaukee’s "People of the Book," she interviewed major celebrities, politicians, including the Israeli ambassador, UN Representatives and various personalities in Art and Music.
After moving to Florida she wrote the film script for her book Journey from the Jacarandas, a feature film begun in Zimbabwe but interrupted and unfinished due to civil disobedience and government sanctions.
Children’s books, titled Dear Sammie and Dear Jake: a letter from a grandparent to a child of divorcing parents, were co-authored with her daughter Adrienne Meloni.
21 Aldgate is character-driven historical fiction set in pre-WWII London’s Jewish East End and fashionable Chelsea, as well as in Germany and France. It is a fictionalized story of the relationship between the artist Paul Maze and his young married assistant Clara during and after the writing of his memoir of WWI.
First and foremost, however, 21 Aldgate is about a place in time, a place that no longer exists except in the rapidly fading memories of disappearing generations. It tells a story of class distinction, people and their traditions, a family and its fate, a country and its fight against fascism, and a woman with a secret she must take to her grave.
Synopsis
When young Clara Simon suddenly quit her steady job in Ernest Maxwell Abbott's law firm over his increasingly shabby treatment of Jewish clients, she soon realized the seriousness of her actions. Giving up any job in struggling, post-WWI London meant taking a chance.
Clara knew her family at 21 Aldgate would not be supportive. With that in mind she did the only thing a Londoner could do: she looked for a quiet place to have a cup of tea and think over her hasty decision. A coincidental meeting with a former Abbott employee resulted in the suggestion of a job offer in Chelsea.
Clara, reluctant to consider venturing into affluent Chelsea, finally agreed to meet with the important French artist, Paul Maze, who needed an assistant to help write his memoir of his work as a field artist during the First World War. Their working relationship ignited a passionate love that forever changed and haunted her.
On the tides of political and social chaos prior to the Second World War, Clara was forced to make decisions that risked both her life and her marriage.
Praise for 21 Aldgate—
". . . while some of the thoughts and actions in 21 Aldgate are indeed fiction, there is a strong element of reality present throughout. hat and the integrity of all the main characters makes 21 Aldgate a standout.
"Alas, for me, The Oriental Wife simply paled in comparison to 21 Aldgate. . . . " —Donna Bird, Sleeping Hedgehog: A Journal of An Untraditional Nature
About the Author, Patricia Friedberg—
Patricia Friedberg was born in London, attended The Henrietta Barnett School and continued her studies at The London School of Journalism. She married a South African doctor, who was furthering his studies in London, and they left for Southern Africa, living for ten years in what was then The Rhodesias, both North and South, first in Wankie (renamed Hwange) and later in Salisbury (renamed Harare after independence), Zimbabwe.
While living in Wankie, Rhodesia she worked as Clerk of the Court in the Office of the Native Commissioner, dealing with tribal and European law, before moving to live in the city of Salisbury (Harare) in Rhodesia, where she joined the newly formed TV station RTV (Rhodesian Television). Her experiences in Hwange allowed her to travel freely into the bush, taking along a photographer. From those interviews she produced a number of Tribal Documentaries and wrote articles to the Rhodesian Herald.
Political unrest intensified in Rhodesia, and, for the safety of their children, the family reluctantly left to settle in the U.S. -- first in Baltimore and then in Milwaukee. In the years that followed, she travelled extensively with her husband, then a professor of cardiology, to major cities in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
Patricia attended a playwriting course at Marquette University where her first play, “Masquerade,” won the play writer’s award. She collaborated on a series of children's books, titled The Alfred Stories, adventures taken from her reminiscences of her own childhood in London during World War II. In keeping with that theme she composed the story and music for a musical, “Twenty-One Aldgate.”
As Moderator at NBC affiliate WMTJ-TV Milwaukee’s "People of the Book," she interviewed major celebrities, politicians, including the Israeli ambassador, UN Representatives and various personalities in Art and Music.
After moving to Florida she wrote the film script for her book Journey from the Jacarandas, a feature film begun in Zimbabwe but interrupted and unfinished due to civil disobedience and government sanctions.
Children’s books, titled Dear Sammie and Dear Jake: a letter from a grandparent to a child of divorcing parents, were co-authored with her daughter Adrienne Meloni.
