Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
In the first edition of her classic book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, published in 1922, Emily Post advised ignoring the “elephant at large in the garden,” meaning a wealthy know-it-all. She wrote “Why a man, because he has millions, should assume he confers omniscience in all branches of knowledge, is something which may be left to the psychologist to answer.” Post’s book is now in its 33rd edition, but some bad behavior and good advice hasn’t changed in nearly 100 years. Read more about cultural norms in the last century in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
Emily Post, etiquette writer, did not gladly suffer rich pompous fools A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. by Ann S. Epstein (Alternative Book Press, Editors’ Choice Selection of Historical Novel Review)
In the original Frank L. Baum story, Dorothy’s slippers are silver. So why are they ruby in The Wizard of Oz movie? The color was changed to show off the wonders of Technicolor, first used in MGM’s 1939 movie classic. Screenwriter Noel Langley is credited with the idea. The shoes began as white silk pumps, dyed red, and overlaid with burgundy sequined organza. Two weeks before filming began, costume designer Adrian added butterfly-shaped leather bows with rectangular, red-glass jewels and dark red bugle beads, outlined by red glass rhinestones set in silver. Orange felt was glued to the soles to deaden the sound of Judy Garland dancing down the Yellow Brick Road. Read more about the making of the movie in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
Dorothy’s ruby slippers were silver in the original book Dorothy and friends dance (noiselessly) down the Yellow Brick Road A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. by Ann S. Epstein (Alternative Book Press, Editors’ Choice Selection of Historical Novel Review)
My Amazon and Goodreads review of My Name is Lucy Barton (Rating 5) – Acute Awe. Elizabeth Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton offers hope to the despairing. In deceptively plain language, Strout evokes a panoply of emotions that leaves readers as wrung-out as Lucy’s debilitating illness, yet equally jubilant over her eventual, if mysterious, recovery. Lucy suffers from the shame of childhood poverty, imperfectly requited longing for maternal affection, indifferent children, humiliating peer rejection, snobbish criticism, and acute anxiety induced by a prolonged but undiagnosed illness. Despite being brought low by circumstance, Lucy the survivor retains her sense of awe at the wonders of the universe. Having been raised with so little, she delights in small gifts that are free: the canvas of a prairie sky at sunset, lights twinkling on at dusk in the city, a rich boy’s courtesy toward a poor woman. Lucy Barton’s only request, in the form of the title’s simple statement, is that her existence be acknowledged. Readers will not forget her name, or this book. Ditto the name and talent of prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout. As a writer myself (see my author pages on Amazon and Goodreads), I offer that testament as the highest praise.
A deceptively simple yet eloquent call for acknowledgment Why writers read: “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” – Joyce Carol Oates
In the 1950s, many popular radio shows made the switch to television, including The Jack Benny Program, which moved in 1955 and ran for 10 years on CBS. In Jim Bishop’s book A Day in the Life of President Kennedy, JFK said he was too busy to watch most TV shows but made time each week to unwind with Jack Benny, the vain, penny-pinching miser who played the violin, badly, and insisted he was 39 years old, despite already being 61 when the show first aired. Read more about 1950s pop culture in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
The Jack Benny Program moved from radio to television in 1955Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky) & J. Fred Muggs A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press) by Ann S. Epstein, an Editors’ Choice selection of Historical Novel Review
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Italian immigrants founded many U.S. companies still with us today: Ghirardelli Chocolate, Progresso, Planters Peanuts, Contadina, Chef Boyardee, Italian Swiss Colony wines, and Jacuzzi. Italo Marchiony is credited with inventing the earliest version of the ice cream cone in NYC in 1898 (patented 1903). Read more about the contributions of Italian-American immigrants in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
Domenico Ghirardelli, founder of the eponymous chocolate company Ghirardelli opened his first store in 1848 to sell sweets to California’s gold rush miners Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press) by Ann S. Epstein
The 1935 National Labor Relations Act (a.k.a. Wagner Act) guarantees the rights of private sector employees to unionize, engage in collective bargaining, and strike. The act does NOT apply to some of the most vulnerable workers including agricultural, domestic, and public employees, as well as independent contractors. Read more about labor laws over the last century in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
Depression era workers demand the right to unionize Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press) by Ann S. Epstein
My Amazon and Goodreads review of Gingerbread (Rating 2) – Tasteless. I finished Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread only because I hate to waste food. Despite the fact that gingerbread is the book’s main entree, readers never get to relish its sensory delights. Oyeyemi does little to evoke the unique pungency of this savory-sweet confection, instead serving a tasteless meal that meanders among people, places, and times in a half-baked batter. Her themes may be the strength of inter-generational ties and the transcendent bonds of female friendship, but her characters lack heart. Not that they are cardboard; their stories are distinctive, if not downright weird. As a writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I appreciate Oyeyemi’s imaginative powers. But whether her creations are real people, changelings, dolls, or figments of the author’s mind, their oddity fails to warm readers’ hearts as much as the gingerbread fails to warm our bellies. If you’re hungry for a good read, search elsewhere.
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi is a “tasteless” read “Read everything … like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master.” – William Faulkner
The 1950s were a seminal era for Rock ‘n Roll. Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who popularized term, debuted his radio show in 1951. Bill Haley and the Comets released “Rock Around the Clock” in 1954; it became a hit the following year. Elvis Presley scored a hit with “Jailhouse Rock” in 1957. Other recording artists of the 1950s: The Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. Read more about music history in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
DJ Alan Freed coined the term “Rock ‘n Roll” “Rock Around the Clock” released 1954 Elvis Presley got the music world “all shook up” A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press) by Ann S. Epstein
I’m pleased to announce that my novel A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. has been selected as an Editors’ Choice book for the November 2019 issue of Historical Novel Review, the quarterly publication of the Historical Novel Society. The magazine typically reviews about 250 books per issue, so I’m thrilled to be singled out by the recognition. I’ll post more information when the magazine is published. In the meantime, you can read about A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. in NOVELS.
A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. selected Editors’ Choice by Historical Novel Review
Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, said that whenever she appeared at children’s events they always asked her to laugh like the witch. Her line, “I’ll get you, my pretty . . . and your little dog, too!” was ranked 99th in the 2005 American Film Institute survey of the most memorable movie quotes. Her son said his mother enjoyed the line so much, she used it in her real life too. Read more about the movie and Margaret Hamilton in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
Margaret Hamilton’s cackle defined the Wicked Witch’s character A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press) by Ann S. Epstein
