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

By: Lily Koppel

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

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 90-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 Diary re-creates the romance and promise of a remarkable era and brings to life the true story of a daring, precocious young dreamer.

©2008, 2011 Lily Koppel (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

A great story from a great find in a steamer trunk!

I came across this title when I finished The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel. I liked her writing and wanted to read more. This one immediately appealed to me due to the diary aspect. I'm a genealogist and always wish I could put a human life with the written facts - birthdate, death date, etc. What a wonderful gift to find the diary's writer still living vibrantly! In my late teens, I burned my own adolescent 5 yr diary, and the journals we had to keep in high school journalism class. How I wish I had those today... but alas, back then, I didn't want anyone to know my innermost thoughts and feelings. I'm sure they would be quite laughable now.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and when I found it on Audible, I listened/reread it again!
Thought: How will I feel and reflect back on my life when I am 90? Will I have lived the life I imagined? How about you?

3? Or 4? Stars?

I found this to be personally fascinating as I lived for a while on W. 82nd St., half a block from Riverside Dr. where this diary was found. I’ve always had a love affair with Manhattan although it’s a tough place to live unless you’re very young (which I was) or very rich. While reading, I enjoyed being a voyeur to this teenager’s life in NYC (and Europe) in the late 20s and early 30s. So much from that era has been demolished in Manhattan so you can only rediscover this world through pictures. My personal appreciation would give it 4 stars but for those not so enamored with the Big Apple, maybe only 3 stars.