Evelyn Oppenheimer (1907–1998)

Rating: 3.5 very nostalgic stars out of five

The Book Report: Miss Evelyn Oppenheimer was not the typical woman of her generation. She was born in 1907 to modestly well-off parents, and would, in the normal course of events, have been expected to marry and produce children and dinner parties.

Not for Evelyn, and with her parents in her corner, she lit out for the University of Chicago and a degree...something the majority of *men didn't have in that day and time. Awarded a PhB in 1929 (such timing!), Evelyn had two life changing events while she was still there: she had appendicitis, and she heard, while recovering from emergency surgery that barely saved her life, a radio broadcast of Alexander Woollcott giving one of his patented snarky radio book review-cum-readings, and knew immediately what she would do for the rest of her life: Oral book reviews.

By gum, she did! From 1934 to the late 1970s, her radio reviews were on the air across the country. From humble beginnings writing reviews for the newspapers, to leading book clubs in department stores, to her radio career...all in a time when a woman wasn't really encouraged to be independent. Oh, and add to that the fact that she had, for thirty-five years, a literary agency...IN TEXAS! Not quite so weird nowadays, but think on it...publishing is in New York City, for the most part, even now, and then...the 1940s...there were no faxes, there was no internet, no FedEx...she was just one helluva maverick, Miss Evelyn.

She died in 1998. We are all poorer for her loss, even yet.


My Review: Far from perfect, with several editing choices that seem very odd, not least of which is the complete absence of a personal life in the story as it's told. I realize Miss Oppenheimer came from a different, more modest and retiring, school than did today's memoirists, and I certainly don't want gory bedroom details...but what did Miss Oppenheimer DO all those years, when she wasn't on stage or in front of a mic delivering oral reviews??

Her agenting days come in for pretty thorough treatment, as I surmise she was quite proud of her ability to spot talent. She was, for example, the one who discovered Elithe Hamilton Kirkland, whose novel Love Is A Wild Assault was a huge bestseller in 1959, telling the story of the Republic of Texas from a woman's point of view. It was based on a factual woman, and was just salacious enough to make both the ladies secure financially. Apart from department store magnate Stanley Marcus of Neiman-Marcus, this was Miss Oppenheimer's biggest client, but her roster was heavy on quality midlisters of the day. Maybe it's not the most glitzy of lives, but it was impressive for being lived in a time that didn't make room for women at the head of the table.

I won't kid you about her writing, either. It's very much of its day. She's not quite breathless but she's getting there; she not self-aggrandizing but she's quite dramatic. Still...search this book out, if you're reading this review. It repays your attention with a small, heavily curtained window on a vanished world of book-love.… (meer)