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Clara's Secret
by Stephan R. Frenkel
GENRE: Creative Nonfiction
PUBLICATION DATE: 02/06/2023
DESCRIPTION:
In 1939, Clara was forced to emigrate from her city of origin, Berlin, toward an uncertain destiny. As she journeyed alone, she searched for understanding in the history of the great metropolis and turned to her collection of memories from her adolescence at the dawn of the twentieth century. This was La Belle Époque—the Beautiful Era; an extraordinary age of optimism and one of the most dramatic transformations of culture. The Prussian capital became a pivotal city that was magnetic to the greatest personalities of the age. Mark Twain, Isadora Duncan, Enrico Caruso, Richard Strauss and Theodore Roosevelt are only a few of the celebrities who Clara learned of and chanced upon. Clara’s Secret is ultimately a provocative story of the advancement of mankind and the survival of its decline.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Stephan R. Frenkel is an accidental author. The subject of this book inspired him to write. He is a first-generation American born in New York City and raised in its northern suburbs. Steve attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison and received a Master’s Degree from the Washington University School of Architecture in St. Louis. He worked in New York as an architect with Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, the largest U.S. based architecture and engineering firm, where he participated in international and national architecture and planning projects. Steve then worked as principal designer and land planner with a development company prior to founding a private architecture and planning practice on the east coast. He independently continued to sponsor and produce large scale land development projects. Steve currently lives with his wife in California. Clara’s Secret is an everlasting tribute to his most admired heroes.
REVIEWS:
"Clara's Secret blends cultural and personal history to reveal something rare in both."
Publisher's Weekly / Booklife (Editor's Pick)
"A tender, personality-centered biography of golden age Berlin."
Kirkus Reviews
"A wonderfully composed portrayal that could be considered narrative Art Nouveau." - BookTrib
COMPARATIVE FILM/BOOK:
Film: Midnight in Paris / Books: Dominique Kalifa's The Belle Époque, David Lindenfeld and Suzanne Marchand's Germany at the Fin de Siècle
CASTING:
Clara Prinz: Kate Winslet; Leo Prinz: Elyas M’Barek; Karoline Prinz: Melanie Lynskey; Ella Lowenstein: Liv Lisa Fries; Sigfred Ree: Louis Hofmann; Mark Twain: Kevin Kline; Isadora Duncan: Emily D’Angelo, Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation; Enrico Caruso: Riccardo Scamarcio; Richard Strauss: Vincent Kartheiser; Theodore Roosevelt: Joe Wiegand
PRIMARY VENUES/LOCATIONS WITHIN THE BOOK:
Berlin / Prussia circa 1900-1914, New York City circa 1939
BOOK EXCERPT:
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