Kitty Zeldis

Kitty Zeldis is the pseudonym for a novelist and non-fiction writer of books for adults and children. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY.

Her new novel is The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Zeldis's reply:

Since I have been writing historical fiction, I’ve found myself drawn to other such novels to provide both inspiration and guidance. Two that I’ve read—and liked—recently are Atomic Love by Jennie Fields and Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn. Atomic Love is set in the 1950’s and its protagonist is a woman who worked on developing the atomic bomb—not a subject you encounter very often! The novel is richly atmospheric, and contains both a tender love story as well as elements of suspense—spies, the FBI etc. Fields is a graceful, assured writer who brings her characters fully and exquisitely to life; I learned so much from her. The Coburn novel touches on the Holocaust but from an unexpected angle—the lebensborn program, which Nazi authorities created to increase Germany’s population. Pregnant German women deemed “racially valuable” were encouraged to give birth to their children at Lebensborn homes. During World War II, the program became complicit in the kidnapping of foreign children with physical features considered “Aryan” by the Nazis. It’s a chilling if not horrifying story, and I knew nothing about it until I read this book. Coburn did an enormous amount of research and has skillfully woven it into the fabric of the novel, which is no easy feat. And one of her character is a young woman who completely supports the Nazi regime and wants nothing more than to produce a healthy infant for the Reich. It is to Coburn’s great credit that we come to understand her even though she repels us.

Visit Kitty Zeldis's website.

My Book, The Movie: Not Our Kind.

Coffee with a Canine: Kitty Zeldis & Dottie.

The Page 69 Test: Not Our Kind.

My Book, The Movie: The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights.

--Marshal Zeringue