From Publishers Weekly
The fortunes of two sisters, Iris and Laura Roth, are chronicled in this formulaic, multifaceted saga by the author of Rich Is Better. The girls were teenagers in 1924 when their father Jacob, convicted of raping and murdering a 14-year-old millworker in Magnolia, Ga., was seized by the KKK and lynchedan obvious reference to the notorious Leo Frank case. With a small loan from the frightened Jewish community, both girls are quickly sent to New York, where, traumatized but resilient, they each resolve to address the past in different ways. Laura is determined to return to Magnolia and clear their father's name. Iris wants total escape, quick wealth and a life in high society. After an abortive film career she marries a wealthy but kinky British lord. Laura becomes an attorney and returns anonymously to Georgia with her two small children. Her future as a female Jewish lawyer in Magnolia during the Depression is bleak, so with the aid of a dedicated staff and her sister's invaluable network of social and political connections, she builds a real estate empire. Ellis's tale contains dozens of sub-plots and numerous characters up and down the social spectrum. Though predictable, the narrative will please romance fans, to whom it will hardly matter that the resolution of the murder is compromised and contrived.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Basing its opening on the real-life Mary Phagan/Leo Frank murder case, this novel tells of Laura and Iris, orphaned daughters of a Southern Jew, who was lynched after being unjustly convicted of murder. Forced from their home, the girls make a new life for themselves in New York: Iris becomes the quintessential Twenties flapper while Laura marries and goes to law school, vowing to avenge her father. Though both deal with assorted disasters, Iris acquires a title and a fortune and Laura, a real estate empire; and then more troubles loom on the horizon. Though there's nothing new in plot or characters and the writing is sometimes awkward, the novel is still interesting. Recommended for popular fiction collections. Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L.,
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
