The Last Princess: A Novel

The New York Times-bestselling novel of a forbidden 1920s romance between a rebellious society woman and a Jewish writer from the author of No Time for Tears.

In this evocative around-the-world tale of star-crossed love, Cynthia Freeman - the beloved author celebrated for her deft storytelling and understanding of family dynamics - takes readers on a whirlwind romance from Manhattan to Hollywood to the Israeli desert.

Beautiful and well-bred, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Lily Goodhue is a woman who, on the surface, has everything. Her impending marriage to the handsome scion of a distinguished New York family was to be the wedding of the decade. People called it a match made in heaven. Yet beneath the dazzling façade, she is haunted by a devastating childhood tragedy and a deep yearning for true love, for someone who will want her simply for who she is.

It all appears to Lily one day, like the sun emerging from behind the clouds, when she meets Harry Kohle, an aspiring young writer and the son of a banker. Enthralled and blinded by love, Lily breaks off her engagement, runs off with Harry, and never looks back, dedicating herself to a love against all odds. Their act of passion will leave them both disinherited, facing the challenge of living a marriage day by day, through thick and thin, as the glittering Prohibition era gives way to the crushing years of the Great Depression and beyond. It is a love that will prove to be Lily's greatest trial - and triumph.

With the same "heartfelt, almost inspirational prose" that made No Time for Tears an unforgettable read, The Last Princess is a ravishing, complex love story and a moving testament to the human spirit's ability to overcome life's sorrows (The New York Times Book Review) .
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"Freeman's fans will clamor for this." - Library Journal ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cynthia Freeman (1915-1988) was the author of multiple bestselling novels, including Come Pour the Wine, No Time for Tears, and The Last Princess. Her novels sold more than twenty million copies worldwide. Born in New York City's Lower East Side, she moved as a young child with her family to Northern California, where she grew up. She fell in love with and married her grandmother's physician. After raising a family and becoming a successful interior decorator, a chronic illness forced her to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. At the age of fifty-five, she began her literary career with the publication of A World Full of Strangers. Her love of San Francisco and her Jewish heritage drove her to write novels with the universal themes of survival, love, hate, self-discovery, joy, and pain, conveying the author's steadfast belief in the ability of the human spirit to triumph over life's sorrows. FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A rote, cookie-cutter approach to plot and character development turns Freeman's most recent novel since Seasons of the Heart into a largely unintriguing exercise in the school of instant success. Lily Goodhue is a wealthy New York debutante slated for a good match in the marriage market when she unexpectedly falls in love with Harry Kohle, son of a rich Jewish banker. Cut off by the stern disapproval of both families, the two retire to a small farm, where Lilywho's never had to lift a fingersettles happily into gardening, canning and raising a family, while her exceedingly self-absorbed husband burns up the typewriter keys with one astounding bestseller after the next. His agent and close friend Ellis moons after Lily from afar and watches with alternating pain and satisfaction as the Kohles's marriage takes a series of tragic turns. The outward trappings of fortune and fame never bring these two much joy, and, despite a bittersweet reconciliation between the couple, it proves difficult to drum up much empathy or enthusiasm for their travails. Doubleday Book Club Main selection; Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. FROM LIBRARY JOURNAL
It is love at first sight between Lily Goodhue, beautiful, neglected daughter of a wealthy industrialist, and socialite playboy Harry Kohle, brilliant, rebellious son of a Jewish merchant-banking family. Disowned by both families, she for marrying a Jew instead of the fiancee chosen for her, and he for marrying a Gentile, they retreat to a farm so Harry can devote himself to writing. As children arrive and Harry's career takes off from bestsellers to Hollywood to Pulitzer Prize, they grow apart, suffering the usual dramatic confrontations and reconciliations common to all Freeman's heroes and heroines. Fans will clamour for this. Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Read more Continue reading Read less