Jillian Cantor

"Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!" --Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code "Jillian Cantor's shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment."--Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women's alternating voices. On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby. Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby--before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well. Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women's freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who's trapped in a terrible marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby's romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them. Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women's perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

A Novel

Beautiful Little Fools

In this contemporary romcom retelling of Jane Austen's Emma by USA TODAY bestselling author Jillian Cantor, there's nothing more complex--or unpredictable--than love. When math genius Emma and her coding club co-president, George, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born. George disapproves of Emma's idea of creating a matchmaking app, accusing her of meddling in people's lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first. Emma's code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other, and Emma's own feelings defy any algorithm?

The Code for Love and Heartbreak

A "historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II in Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families"--Dust jacket flap.

The Lost Letter

A sweeping historical novel that spans Germany, England, and the United States and follows a young couple torn apart by circumstance leading up to World War II—and the family secret that may prove to be the means for survival. Love brought them together. But only time can save them… 1931, Germany. Bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist, and immediately he feels a powerful chemistry between them. It isn’t long before they fall in love and begin making plans for the future. As their love affair unfolds over the next five years, the climate drastically changes in Germany as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the new landscape and the realities of war, not the least of which is that Hanna is Jewish and Max is not. But unbeknownst to Hanna is the fact that Max has a secret, which causes him to leave for months at a time—a secret that Max is convinced will help him save Hanna if Germany becomes too dangerous for her because of her religion. In 1946, Hanna Ginsberg awakens in a field outside of Berlin. Disoriented and afraid, she has no memory of the past ten years and no idea what has happened to Max. With no information as to Max’s whereabouts—or if he is even still alive—she decides to move to London to live with her sister while she gets her bearings. Even without an orchestra to play in, she throws herself completely into her music to keep alive her lifelong dream of becoming a concert violinist. But the music also serves as a balm to heal her deeply wounded heart and she eventually gets the opening she long hoped for. Even so, as the days, months, and years pass, taking her from London to Paris to Vienna to America, she continues to be haunted by her forgotten past, and the fate of the only man she has ever loved and cannot forget. Told in alternating viewpoints—Max in the years leading up to WWII, and Hanna in the ten years after—In Another Time is a beautiful novel about love and survival, passion and music, across time and continents.

In Another Time

The USA Today bestselling author of In Another Time reimagines the pioneering, passionate life of Marie Curie using a parallel structure to create two alternative timelines, one that mirrors her real life, one that explores the consequences for Marie and for science if she'd made a different choice. In Poland in 1891, Marie Curie (then Marya Sklodowska) was engaged to a budding mathematician, Kazimierz Zorawski. But when his mother insisted she was too poor and not good enough, he broke off the engagement. A heartbroken Marya left Poland for Paris, where she would attend the Sorbonne to study chemistry and physics. Eventually Marie Curie would go on to change the course of science forever and be the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.But what if she had made a different choice? What if she had stayed in Poland, married Kazimierz at the age of twenty-four, and never attended the Sorbonne or discovered radium? What if she had chosen a life of domesticity with a constant hunger for knowledge in Russian Poland where education for women was restricted, instead of studying science in Paris and meeting Pierre Curie? Entwining Marie Curie's real story with Marya Zorawska's fictional one, Half Life explores loves lost and destinies unfulfilled--and probes issues of loyalty and identity, gender and class, motherhood and sisterhood, fame and anonymity, scholarship and knowledge. Through parallel contrasting versions of Marya's life, Jillian Cantor's unique historical novel asks what would have happened if a great scientific mind was denied opportunity and access to education. It examines how the lives of one remarkable woman and the people she loved - as well as the world at large and course of science and history--might have been irrevocably changed in ways both great and small.

Half Life

USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women's alternating voices. On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby. Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby--before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well. Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women's freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who's trapped in a terrible marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby's romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them. Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women's perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled.

This compelling, reverse-dystopian novel will make readers see their own world in a whole new light

Searching for Sky

Can she rewrite the fate of the women who came before her? The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel--a retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca--was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she's battling a bad case of writer's block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA. At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry "Ash" Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice named People's Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother's past, the more questions she has--and before she knows it, she's trapped in a gothic mystery of her own. With as many twists and turns as the California coast, The Fiction Writer is a page-turner that explores the boundaries of creative freedom and whose stories we have the right to tell.

The Fiction Writer

Jillian Cantor has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. She is the author of award-winning novels for teens and adults, including, most recently, the critically acclaimedMargot, which was a Library Reads pick. Born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Cantor currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

The Hours Count

In a reimagining of the life of Anne Frank's sister Margot, Margie Franklin, working as a secretary at a Jewish law firm in Philadelphia, finds her carefully constructed life falling apart when her sister becomes a global icon.

Margot

Through her freshman year of high school, fourteen-year-old Melissa struggles to hold onto memories of her deceased father, to cope with her mother's return to dating, to get along with her sister, and to sort out her feelings about her best friend, Ryan.

The life of glass

“A gorgeous and thrilling novel… Perfect for book clubs and fans of The Nightingale.” –PopSugar A historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. A heart-breaking, heart-warming read for fans of The Nightingale, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key. Austria, 1938. Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself. Los Angeles, 1989. Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad's collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall. A romantic, poignant and addictive novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love.

Abigail Reed and her younger sister, Becky, are always at each other's throats. Their mother calls them the September Sisters, because their birthdays are only a day apart, and pretends that they're best friends. But really, they delight in making each other miserable. Then Becky disappears in the middle of the night, and a torn gold chain with a sapphire heart charm is the only clue to the mystery of her kidnapping. Abby struggles to cope with her own feelings of guilt and loss as she tries to keep her family together. When her world is at its bleakest, Abby meets a new neighbor, Tommy, who is dealing with his own loss, and the two of them discover that love can bloom, even when it's surrounded by thorns. This exquisitely written first novel illustrates life as it truly is—filled with fear and danger, hope and love, comfort and uncertainty.

The September Sisters

‘Schitterend als een zeldzaam juweel is Margie een briljante roman over het ontdekken van de waarheden over onze levens, ongeacht wat het ons kost.’ -- Caroline Leavitt, schrijfster van Pictures of You ‘Jillian Cantor schetst meer dan een melancholieke mogelijkheid. Ze geeft ons een beeld van het scala aan emoties van mensen die het onvoorstelbare hebben overleefd.’ -- Jenna Blum, schrijfster van Het familieportret ‘Dit is een boek dat je tot op het bot raakt, prachtig geschreven.’ Gwen Cooper, schrijfster van Love Saves The Day `Margie is zo’n boek waarbij je na afloop ademloos blijft zitten, zowel vanwege het belangwekkende onderwerp als het boeiende verhaal. Dit unieke, moedige en fraai geschreven verhaal over de liefde en een familiegeheim blijft je nog lang bij.’ -- Ilie Ruby, schrijfster van The Salt God’s Daughter

Margie

Before he died, Melissa's father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren't always the most beautiful—that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beauty. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn't only skin deep, the people around her don't seem to feel that way. There's her gorgeous sister, Ashley, who will barely acknowledge Melissa at school; there's her best friend, Ryan, who may be falling in love with the sophisticated Courtney; and there's Melissa's mother, who's dating someone new, someone Melissa knows will never be able to replace her father. To make sure she doesn't lose her father completely, Melissa spends her time trying to piece together the last of his secrets and finishing a journal he began—one about love and relationships and the remarkable ways people find one another. But when tragedy strikes, Melissa has to start living and loving in the present as she realizes that being beautiful on the outside doesn't mean you can't be beautiful on the inside. This is a lyrical tale of love, loss, and self-discovery from the author of The September Sisters.

The Life of Glass

Fiction Writer

A powerful reimagining of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of the three women whose lives are unravelled by one man's romantic obsession. On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby. Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby - before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well. Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women's freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who's trapped in a terrible marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unravelling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby's romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them. This inspired reimagining of the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless classic is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire - and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled. 'This powerful exploration of the women of The Great Gatsby will forever change the way you see the American classic - and perhaps, too, the role of women in all the stories we take for granted.' Kristin Harmel, bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Star

Una misteriosa lettera d'amore sospesa tra passato e presente, verità e inganno. Un segreto di famiglia sepolto nei ricordi; una passione più forte della paura e dell'oblio. Austria, 1938. Kristoff, giovane orfano viennese, diventa apprendista presso Frederick Faber, mastro incisore specializzato nella realizzazione di francobolli. Quando il suo mentore, ebreo, scompare durante le devastazioni della terribile Notte dei Cristalli, Kristoff è costretto a mandare avanti la bottega al servizio dei nazisti. Ma la figlia di Faber, Elena, scampata alla cattura e collaboratrice della Resistenza, lo convince a unirsi alla causa, falsificando documenti e inviando messaggi in codice. Per lei, di cui è perdutamente innamorato, Kristoff farebbe qualunque cosa, a costo della sua stessa vita. Los Angeles, 1989. Da bambina, Katie amava accompagnare al mercato delle pulci suo padre, che era sempre alla ricerca di francobolli rari. Ora che l'Alzheimer gli sta togliendo passioni e ricordi, Katie spera di fargli un regalo gradito facendo stimare tutta la sua collezione. L'esperto di filatelia cui si rivolge, Benjamin Grossman, vi scopre una lettera la cui affrancatura, risalente all'inizio del secolo, sembra nascondere un messaggio segreto. Con l'aiuto di Benjamin, Katie decide di svelarne il mistero. Non sa ancora che la ricerca li condurrà a ritroso nel tempo, alla scoperta di una giovane coppia che si era giurata amore eterno, e poi nel presente esaltante di una Berlino che sta cambiando il mondo con la caduta del Muro. Non sa ancora che spetterà a lei, ora, rendere giustizia a quell'amore e a quella promessa. Ispirato a testimonianze reali della Resistenza, un romanzo che scuote le coscienze. Una storia coinvolgente che celebra l'importanza della memoria e i tanti eroi senza nome che con coraggio hanno sfidato i portatori d'odio

La lettera perduta

What if the reality you thought you knew was nothing but a fantasy? Jennifer Levenworth has a great big pounding headache. It could be because her husband, a judge, is indicted on bribery charges, leaving her unsure about everything in her marriage. Or it could be caused by the media, who are relentlessly covering the story. Or because the friends Jennifer thought she knew and trusted have turned their backs on her in her greatest hour of need. And then the dreams begin. . . . And while Jennifer sleeps, she swears she can see—and hear—her friends' and family's most private moments. Soon Jennifer realizes she is actually learning the truth about their lives, which is also leading her to question everything she thought she knew about herself. But when the dreams start to reveal a startling reality, can Jennifer find the strength to ultimately transform her life?

The Transformation of Things

A brilliant sliding-doors reimagining of the passionate life of the first woman to win a Nobel Prize - and the life Marie Curie might have led if she had chosen love over science. Poland, 1891. Marie Curie (then Marya Sklodowska) was engaged to a budding mathematician, Kazimierz Zorawski. But when his mother insisted Marya was not good enough, he broke off the engagement. A heartbroken Marya left Poland for Paris to study chemistry and physics at the Sorbonne. Marie would go on to change the course of science forever and become the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. But what if Marie had made a different choice? What if she had stayed in Poland, married Kazimierz, and never attended the Sorbonne or discovered radium? What if Marie had chosen her first love and a life of domesticity, still ravenous for knowledge in Russian Poland where education for women was restricted, instead of studying science in Paris and meeting Pierre Curie? Seamlessly entwining the lives of Marya and Marie, Half Life is a powerful story of love and friendship, motherhood and sisterhood, fame and anonymity - and a woman destined to change the world.

Jillian Cantor

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