Out of Eden
New York: Harmony Books, 1996. Second Printing [stated]. Hardcover. [8], 339, [5] pages. Signed by the author on the half-title page. An American and a French woman in 19th-century Paris work their way around the rigid rules of their social set. This moving tale of regret and compromise values a sense of family over lonely career advancement, yet thankfully avoids positing marriage and children as a strong woman's only reprieve from alienation. Kate Lehrer (born Kate Tom Staples; December 17, 1939) is an American writer, novelist and book reviewer from Washington, D.C., and a panelist on the Diane Rehm Book Club on National Public Radio. She is the widow of fellow writer and journalist Jim Lehrer. Lehrer has written four novels, as well as numerous short stories, essays, and book reviews. Her first novel, Best Intentions, was published in 1987. When They Took Away the Man in the Moon came out in 1993. Out of Eden, which won the Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Novel, was published in 1996. Confessions of a Bigamist: A Novel, described by the Washington Post as whimsical and droll, was published in 2004. Publishers Weekly describes Lehrer's writing style as intelligent and mannered. In 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree by McDaniel College. More