21 Aldgate

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

With the political situation today in the USA and in many other parts of the world in disarray, I cannot help being reminded, how much it reflects the novel 21 Aldgate. In so many ways, that story remains as relevant today as it did in the 1930's and 40's. Once again, we are living in dictatorial times, where racism is paramount and white supremacy is no longer dormant. We have a President who is divisive and adamantly non-inclusive. I lived through the Second World War in London yet I do not recall one moment of anti-Semitism. I do not remember anyone, neither teacher nor child having to protect Lisa, the little girl who sat next to me in school and who’d recently arrived on the Kindertransport from being bullied or told to go back from where she came from. I realize now I was sheltered from the knowledge that had the enemy invaded England, I too would have been rounded up and sent to a concentration camp. That never happened because Winston Churchill united the country with his oratory and his ever-present determination to inspire all Brits to ‘Keep Calm, Carry On.” We do not have a Statesman of his stature to protect us now. If you have not read 21 Aldgate I urge you to read it now.

Patricia Friedberg

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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.

21 Aldgate

Saturday, July 20, 2019

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

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2 comments:

PAUL MAZE