The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal [Paperback]

For more than half a century, the red leather diary languished inside a steamer trunk. Rescued from a Dumpster on Manhattan's Upper West Side, it found its way to Lily Koppel, a young writer, who opened its tarnished brass lock and journeyed into an enthralling past. The diary painted a breathtaking portrait of a bygone New York—of glamorous nights at El Morocco and elegant teas at Schrafft's during the 1920s and '30s—and of the headstrong, endearing teenager who filled its pages with her hopes, heartaches, and vivid recollections. Intrigued, Koppel followed her only clue, a frontispiece inscription, to its now ninety-year-old owner, Florence Wolfson, and was enchanted as Florence, reunited with her diary, rediscovered a lost younger self burning with artistic fervor.

Joining intimate interviews with original diary entries,The Red Leather Diaryre-creates the romance and promise of a remarkable era and brings to life the true story of a daring, precocious young dreamer.

Skillful reporting, fine prose and [an] excellent eye for period detail. . . . A story about not one but two lovable charactersand the city that brought them together.Florences life reads like E.L. Doctorows Ragtime in places, with all the famous paths crossed and situations experienced; while descriptions of city life recall Marjorie Harts Summer at Tiffany... Together, Koppel and Florence take readers through a world dizzy with new ideas, rhythms and inventions.After a front-page story appeared in the New York Times Sunday City section, interest in Florences fascinating story prompted the author to write a full-length book that works as both a biography and a spellbinding glimpse into a vanished era.Koppels love of New York is obvious in the details she draws from Florences diary, which show how the city has changed in ways both big and small. An entertaining and enjoyable work.In The Red Leather Diary, Lily Koppel finds an old journal in a Dumpster, l#|