Review -- The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel
A Story Within a Story
When New York Times writer Lily Koppel stepped out of her Manhattan apartment that autumn morning in 2003, she had no idea she was stepping back in time. Outside, the old, forgotten "junk" from the basement storage area of her building at 98 Riverside Drive sat in a dumpster, ready to be hauled away. Management was finally cleaning up.
Intrigued by the dozens of antique trunks, the 22-year-old Chicago transplant dove in, and was still there as the streetlamps came on that evening. Koppel knew she'd found not only dozens of goodies (a silk kimono, flapper dresses, old photographs, handbags), but a story. Earlier, a doorman had found "some girl's diary from the 30's" and gave it to Koppel.
Writer Lily Koppel Finds Diary, Becomes Intrigued
The brittled-covered red leather diary containing five years worth of daily entries had belonged to one Florence Wolfson, a girl who'd lived in the building 75 years earlier. Wolfson had faithfully entered her daily life into the journal from her 14th to 19th birthdays, from 1929 to 1934.
Lily Koppel became fascinated not only by the picture painted by the young woman within -- one of an all but forgotten New York past, and a very social young lady-- but of the coincidental similarities between herself and the diarist: a bright and forward-thinking young woman with literary and artistic aspirations, somewhat alone in the big city. Against fairly high odds, Koppel determined to find Wolfson, if she was still alive all these decades later.
The Red Leather Diary is a story within a story. It took Lily Koppel three years, but she did find Ms. Wolfson, now 90-year-old Florence Howitt, living in Florida, a spunky old gal who became the author's close friend. This book, then, is not only Wolfson/Howitt's narrative from the diary as it unfolds in front of Koppel, but the emerging friendship between the two, all sparked by the author's discovery.
Story of Bygone New York, Precocious Young Woman Emerges
The majority of this book is Florence's story, bookended with Koppel's finding the diary at the beginning and finding friendship with her at the end. The Red Leather Diary would be an interesting read even without the side-story, however. As a snapshot of New York (both the city and the Catskills), it succeeds in bringing to life an era when 17 year-old girls could go dancing to the sounds of Count Basie at the Café Rouge Ballroom.
Young Florence Wolfson's upper-middleclass life, while not beyond extraordinary, could certainly be characterized as captivating, perhaps movie material (which it probably will be). With the aid of Florence's additional personal memories via interviews, Koppel is able to weave a compelling tale, one of a precocious young woman who hosted literary salons, had sexual dalliances with both men and women (including an Italian Count and a Broadway actress), was an early feminist, and could have been successful in a variety of the arts.
New Friendship, New Lives
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of The Red Leather Diary is the notion of how this one, tiny, seemingly incidental event -- Koppel's discovery of the diary -- brought new life to the two people involved. For the nonogenarian diarist, whose life had become bland, she feels like she is "one of the most excited old women in the world!" For Koppel, Florence is her "new best friend," with whom she talks on the phone several times a week.
The Red Leather Diary is more than just a "feel-good" story of chance meeting, or just a period snapshot of a bygone time. It is not only both, but one of those cases where the sum of its parts seems to make up something bigger. It is highly recommended as an interesting read that defies categorization. For regularly updated information on Lily and Florence, visit Lilly Koppel's Blog.
Koppel, Lily. The Red Leather Diary, 2008, Harper Collins, New York. 321 pages.
(ISBN: 978-0-06-125687-3)
The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel
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