The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe
107
The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe
107eBookFirst Edition (First Edition)
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Overview
In this elegant and affecting companion to her "extraordinary" memoir, Borrowed Finery, a young writer flings herself into a Europe ravaged by the Second World War (The Boston Globe)
In 1946, Paula Fox walked up the gangplank of a partly reconverted Liberty with the classic American hope of finding experience—or perhaps salvation—in Europe. She was twenty-two years old, and would spend the next year moving among the ruins of London, Warsaw, Paris, Prague, Madrid, and other cities as a stringer for a small British news service.
In this lucid, affecting memoir, Fox describes her movements across Europe's scrambled borders: unplanned trips to empty castles and ruined cathedrals, a stint in bombed-out Warsaw in the midst of the Communist election takeovers, and nights spent in apartments here and there with distant relatives, friends of friends, and in shabby pensions with little heat, each place echoing with the horrors of the war. A young woman alone, with neither a plan nor a reliable paycheck, Fox made her way with the rest of Europe as the continent rebuilt and rediscovered itself among the ruins.
Long revered as a novelist, Fox won over a new generation of readers with her previous memoir, Borrowed Finery. Now, with The Coldest Winter, she recounts another chapter of a life seemingly filled with stories—a rare, unsentimental glimpse of the world as seen by a writer at the beginning of an illustrious career.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466802384 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Holt, Henry & Company, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2024 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 107 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Paula Fox was a notable figure in contemporary American literature. She earned wide acclaim for her children’s books, as well as for her novels and memoirs for adults. Born in New York City on April 22, 1923, her early years were turbulent. She moved from upstate New York to Cuba to California, and from one school to another. An avid reader at a young age, her love of literature sustained her through the difficulties of an unsettled childhood. At first, Fox taught high school, writing only when occasion permitted. Soon, however, she was able to devote herself to writing full-time, but kept a foot in the classroom by teaching creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and the State University of New York.
In her novels for young readers, Fox fearlessly tackles difficult topics such as death, race, and illness. She has received many distinguished literary awards including a Newbery Medal for The Slave Dancer (1974), a National Book Award for A Place Apart (1983), and a Newbery Honor for One-Eyed Cat (1984). Worldwide recognition for Fox’s contribution to literature for children came with the presentation of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978.
Fox’s novels for adults have also been highly praised. Her 2002 memoir, Borrowed Finery, received the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir, and in 2013 the Paris Review presented her with the Hadada Award, honoring her contribution to literature and the writing community. In 2011, Fox was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.
Fox passed away in 2017 at the age of ninety-three.
Hometown:
Brooklyn, New YorkDate of Birth:
April 22, 1923Place of Birth:
New York, New YorkEducation:
Attended Columbia UniversityRead an Excerpt
Praise for Borrowed Finery:
“Pointillist in detail, lapidary in method and brutal in effect . . . an eloquent, disturbing memoir.” —The New York Times
Reading Group Guide
About this Guide
The following author biography and list of questions about The Coldest Winter are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach The Coldest Winter.
About the Book
A moving companion to Borrowed Finery, Paula Fox's previous memoir, The Coldest Winter unfolds in the ravaged terrain of Europe shortly after World War II. Paula Fox was just twenty-two years old when she bade farewell to New York and began exploring the ruins of London, Warsaw, Paris, Prague, Madrid, and other cities after taking a reporting job for a small British news service. Living off meager wages in decrepit, poorly heated rooms, she experienced firsthand the realities faced by most of Europe as it struggled to rebuild. From an empty Louvre and ruined cathedrals to Communist election takeovers, she recalls a time and place that marked a significant turning point in the world's memory, and in her illustrious career as a writer.