21 Aldgate: VINA DEL MAR READERS GROUP - APRIL BOOK CHOICE OF THE MONTH "21 ALDGATE"

Saturday, April 13, 2013

VINA DEL MAR READERS GROUP - APRIL BOOK CHOICE OF THE MONTH "21 ALDGATE"

A British Evening if ever...
Tea and biscuits, Egg salad, cucumber and Marmite sandwiches (sans crust),

Union Jacks, a Teddy Bear in a sweater crested with LONDON, a Bulldog (with a cigar) and Toby Jug of Sir Winston Churchill for the centerpiece, and a Book Talk, by the author, Patricia Friedberg and discussion about 21 ALDGATE, VINA DEL MAR's APRIL BOOK CLUB CHOICE

Hosted by Gillian Endress

An evening of bright, lively and brilliant exchange that ranged from the characters in the book, the period in which is was set, to Paul Maze, his art, to Winston Churchill and the politics of the day, present politics, the pointlessness of war, and women's role in wartime -(past and present).

I wish we'd had a recording of this meeting...

Thank you all for your praise of "21 ALDGATE", for inviting Patricia to your meeting and for placing her soon to be released latest book, "LETTERS FROM WANKIE" on your book list for next year.

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About the Author Patricia Friedberg

British-born author Patricia Friedberg grew up in London during World War II. She attended the Henrietta Barnett School and later the London School of Journalism. Soon after her marriage, the Friedbergs left England to live for many years in South Africa and in the Rhodesias - now Zambia and Zimbabwe - where Dr. Friedberg practiced medicine and where she was a journalist and writer of documentaries for the Rhodesian Newspapers and Rhodesian Television.

Due to civil unrest and for the safety of their children, the family came to America, where Mrs. Friedberg attended university and wrote columns for community and organizational papers, and hosted a television talk show, '"People of the Book," for the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In addition to her talent as a writer and journalist, Mrs. Friedberg has composed music for theatre, written prose for a ballet and has travelled extensively with her husband, a professor of cardiology who lectured around the world.

She has co-authored with her daughter, Adrienne, two illustrated children’s books, Dear Sammie, A Letter to a child of Divorcing parents, and Dear Jake.

She is the mother of four children, each born in a different country, grandmother of eight, and now has three great-grandsons.

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.