Summer. 1945. Manhattan. A world war rages on. Rationing and patriotism go hand in hand in the war effort, and Marjorie and Marty board a train from the quiet of Iowa in search of summer jobs they are sure they will find in New York City and, amid it all, they have the best summer of their lives!
My friend, Janet, who has a great blog about her adventures at her cottage on the west coast of Ireland, recommended Summer at Tiffany to me. It sounded like a bit of light reading and, since I’m easily distracted, off I went to find it at the library and commenced having a delightful time reading it as the summer of 2011 finally kicked in.
Written at the age of eighty-three by Marjorie Hart, who was college student at the University of Iowa in the summer of ’45, Summer at Tiffany is both a fun adventure of two naive sorority sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma who end up being the first female pages at Tiffany & Co. and a view into the summer that brought about the end of World War II with these two young women witnessing history first hand.
There were moments in this book where I laughed out loud as Marjorie and Marty navigated Manhattan, looking for a job and finally discovering one from the upper deck of a bus, to their escapades at parties, dancing with midshipmen, and learning the ins and outs of Tiffany & Co.
There were moments when I admired their determination to have fun while barely being able to rub two pennies together, often having day old sandwiches and hot chocolate for supper, lunch at Horn & Hardart Automat, and Schrafft’s restaurant. I giggled when I read how they collected Coke bottles to get enough money for the train ride.
There were moments, too, when history collided with their summer adventures as Marjorie sees Eisenhower’s motorcade in NYC, and the girls are awakened by a B-25 that collides into the Empire State Building on a foggy day, and as they celebrate VJ Day in Times Square, braving the crowd of several million as all await news from Truman that Japan has surrendered, ending WWII.
Mostly, I admired the spirit of Marjorie and Marty; their sense of hope in the future when the future was so uncertain and their loyalty to each other. Theirs was loyalty and friendship that followed them throughout their lives. Both girls grew into quite accomplished women and productive members of society. Marjorie eventually became a professional cellist and the chairwoman of the Fine Arts Department at the University of San Diego.
Though books about very different places in time, Summer at Tiffany brought to mind Marcia Chellis’ The Girls of Winnetka and I was reminded, anew, of the strides we have made as women, in large part through the spirit of girls like these.
Thank you, Janet, for the great recommendation, and thank you, Ms. Hart, for your most delightful memoir of the summer of your life.
Looks a wonderful book, Penny. I always love your recommendations…
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It is a quick and enjoyable read of a time past, Kate – and quite fun. Hope you can find it. Thanks.
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I’ve been happily catching up with your posts Penny. I missed saying happy 4 July too! Too busy indeed.
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Hi, Joan. I know what you mean about catching up. Phew! Time flies.
Thank you. Ours was very pleasant and the weather, for once, was perfect.
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What a great book review Penny! I’m glad you enjoyed the book as well and appear to have gotten a lot of the same from it that I did. Wasn’t it great the way those two young women seemed to take their financial limits as just another part of the adventure? I loved that and wonder if anyone today would have that attitude.
Also, thank you for the blog plug!
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Thank you, Janet. It was a great suggestion! Going there, not having a job or a place to live, barely enough to eat and pay the rent, yet, they had such an adventuresome attitude and things worked out for them. I wonder if it was just their naiveness, or the times they were living in. I really enjoyed it.
You’re quite welcome. I love your blog and hope a few others will as well.
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It sounds like a fun read. I will look forward to it. Thanks Penny and the other Janet for the recommendation.
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I always get good recommendations from the Janets in my life. I think you would enjoy it, Janet and hope you can get it from the library down there.
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This sounds fascinating, and of special interest to me is the fact that she wrote it at the age of 83! Her memory must have remained very fresh and alive.
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I think you would enjoy reading this, Juliet. You can find a few interviews given by her online about the book. Isn’t it amazing what a memory she has? She takes the reader right back to VJ Day in NYC, the airplane crash into the Empire State Building, and so many other moments, including seeing Marlene Dietrich and then Judy Garland in Tiffany’s. She is also a cellist and, I believe, still plays in her mid- eighties. You really must “meet” her.
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I can’t wait to read this, Penny! It sounds perfect. I certainly know what it’s like to be rubbing my last two cents together and still being able to have fun! Oh, New York!
What a lovely review you have written. I will be sure to get hold of this as soon as possible!
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Rachel, though there are more than 60 years between Hart’s NYC adventure and yours, there were parts of the book and the author’s adventuresome spirit that so reminded me of you. You have taught us all so much more about New York City through your lively adventures and reading reviews, you are wonderful. I know I mentioned this before, but, I truly think you would enjoy this book.
Thank you, Rachel.
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