Alison Leslie Gold

Last updated

Alison Leslie Gold
Alison Leslie Gold.jpg
Alison Leslie Gold, New York City, 2016
Born (1945-07-13) July 13, 1945 (age 78)
New York City, U.S.
Notable works
  • Anne Frank Remembered
  • The Clairvoyant
  • The Devil's Mistress
Website
www.alisonlesliegold.com

Alison Leslie Gold (born 1945) is an American author. Her books include Anne Frank Remembered, [1] Clairvoyant: the Imagined Life of Lucia Joyce, The Devil's Mistress, and Memories of Anne Frank. She has written literary fiction as well as books for young people on a wide range of subjects including alcoholic intervention and the Holocaust as experienced by the young. [2] [3] Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages.

Contents

Biography

Gold was born on July 13, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Bayside, Queens. [4] [5] She was educated at the University of North Carolina, Mexico City College and the New School for Social Research in New York City. She currently shares her time between New York City and a small island in Greece. [6] [7] [8]

Gold has three siblings: poet Ted Greenwald, [9] bed-and-breakfast owner Nancy Greenwald [10] and film director Maggie Greenwald. Her son Thor Gold [11] is a film-maker.

Writing

Gold's books have been reviewed in The Times Literary Supplement , The Guardian, The New York Times , The New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and O,The Oprah Magazine, among others.

Gold has described herself as a "salvager of other people's stories" [12] and is most widely known for her work related to the Holocaust. Her book Anne Frank Remembered was co-written with Miep Gies, the employee of Otto Frank who hid Anne Frank and rescued Anne's diary. [13] Gold similarly worked with Anne Frank's childhood friend Hannah (Hanneli) Goslar to write Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend. [14] On the occasion of the publication of Anne Frank Remembered, Elie Wiesel said of Anne Frank Remembered: "Let us give recognition to Alison Gold. Without her and her talent of persuasion, without her writer's talent, too, this poignant account, vibrating with humanity, would not have been written." [15] Isaac Bashevis Singer commended Ann Frank Remembered as "Beautifully written". [16] Fiet's Vase, Gold's collection of Holocaust survival accounts, was described by one reviewer as having "language as transparent as pure water"; [17] according to another reviewer, each story "reads like a miracle, a silver chalice excavated from dust." [18]

Gold's non-Holocaust work has not been as consistently well received. For example, some critics did not like the blend of historical fact and fictional elements in The Clairvoyant, an "imagined history" of the life of Lucia Joyce, the daughter of James Joyce. The Los Angeles Times observed that "so much is fabricated in Clairvoyant that anyone who reads it unaware of the real lives of James and Lucia Joyce will be led far off the mark". [19] However, Irish author Padraic O'Farrell described Clairvoyant as "brilliantly innovative and movingly written". [20] According The Times Literary Supplement, Gold's most recent work, the autobiographical Found and Lost, "captures the rough texture of lived experience in a way that often eludes more straightforward autobiography". [21]

Recognition

Adaptations

Bibliography

Adult non-fiction

Adult fiction

Young adult

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Frank</span> Father of Anne Frank (1889–1980)

Otto Heinrich Frank was the father of Anne Frank. He edited and published the first edition of her diary in 1947 and advised on its later theatrical and cinematic adaptations. In the 1950s and 60s he established European charities in his daughter's name and founded the trust which preserved his family's wartime hiding place, The Anne Frank House, in Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miep Gies</span> Dutch citizen who hid Anne Frank (1909–2010)

Hermine "Miep" Gies was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family and four other Dutch Jews from the Nazis in an annex above Otto Frank's business premises during World War II. She was Austrian by birth, but in 1920, at the age of eleven, she was taken in as a foster child by a Dutch family in Leiden to whom she became very attached. Although she was only supposed to stay for six months, this stay was extended to one year because of frail health, after which Gies chose to remain with them, living the rest of her life in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Frank</span> Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim (1929–1945)

Annelies MarieFrank was a German-born Jewish girl who kept a diary in which she documented life in hiding under Nazi persecution during the German occupation of the Netherlands. She is a celebrated diarist who described everyday life from her family hiding place in an Amsterdam attic. One of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl, in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944 — it is one of the world's best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.

<i>Anne Frank Remembered</i> 1995 British documentary film

Anne Frank Remembered is a 1995 British documentary film produced and directed by Jon Blair about the life and posthumously published diary of the German-Jewish diarist, Anne Frank, who spent most of her life in the Netherlands. The film was produced in association with the Anne Frank House, Disney Channel, and the BBC, and features narration by Kenneth Branagh and extracts from Frank's diary read by Glenn Close. It originally aired on television in April 1995 before it was screened theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics in February 1996.

<i>The Diary of a Young Girl</i> Diary by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl, often referred to as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Anne's diaries were retrieved by Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl. Miep gave them to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the family's only survivor, just after the Second World War was over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Silberbauer</span> SS Nazi Officer, responsible for the arrest of Anne Frank and her family

Karl Josef Silberbauer was an Austrian police officer, Schutzstaffel (SS) member, and undercover investigator for the West German Bundesnachrichtendienst. He was stationed in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during World War II, where he was promoted to the rank of Hauptscharführer. In 1963, Silberbauer, by then an inspector in the Vienna police, was exposed as the commander of the 1944 Gestapo raid on the Anne Frank House Secret Annex and the arrests of Anne Frank, her fellow fugitives, and two of their protectors, Victor Kugler and Johannes Kleiman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Frank</span> Older sister of Anne Frank (1926–1945)

Margot Betti Frank was the elder daughter of Otto Frank and Edith Frank and the elder sister of Anne Frank. Margot's deportation order from the Gestapo hastened the Frank family into hiding. According to the diary of her younger sister, Anne, Margot kept a diary of her own, but no trace of it has ever been found. She died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritz Pfeffer</span> German physician

Friedrich "Fritz" Pfeffer was a German dentist and Jewish refugee who hid with Anne Frank and her family and the Van Pels family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. He perished in the Neuengamme concentration camp in Northern Germany. Pfeffer was given the pseudonym Albert Dussel in Frank's diary, and remains known as such in many editions and adaptations of the publication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Gies</span> Dutch Resistance member; Dutch Righteous Among the Nations; World War II humanitarian

Jan Augustus Gies was a member of the Dutch Resistance who, with his wife, Miep, helped hide Anne Frank, her sister Margot, their parents Otto and Edith, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer from Nazi persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands by aiding them as they resided in the Secret Annex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Kleiman</span> Concealer of Anne Frank

Johannes Kleiman was one of the Dutch residents who helped hide Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In the published version of Frank's diary, Het Achterhuis, known in English as The Diary of a Young Girl, he is given the pseudonym Mr. Koophuis. In some later publications of the diary, the pseudonym was removed, and Kleiman was referred to by his real name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bep Voskuijl</span> Dutch secretary who helped hide Anne Frank (1919–1983)

Elisabeth "Bep" Voskuijl was a resident of Amsterdam who helped conceal Anne Frank and her family from Nazi persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands. In the early versions of Het Achterhuis, known in English as The Diary of a Young Girl, she was given the pseudonym "Elli Vossen".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edith Frank</span> Mother of Anne Frank (1900–1945)

Edith Frank was the mother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, and her older sister Margot. After the family were discovered in hiding in Amsterdam during the German occupation, she was transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

<i>The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank</i> 1988 television film

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank is a 1988 television film directed by John Erman. It is based on Miep Gies's 1988 book Anne Frank Remembered. The film was broadcast as part of an ad hoc network, Kraft Golden Showcase Network. Playwright William Hanley received an Emmy for his script.

<i>Tales from the Secret Annex</i>

Tales from the Secret Annex is a collection of miscellaneous prose fiction and non-fiction written by Anne Frank while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. It was first published in The Netherlands in 1949, then in an expanded edition in 1960. A complete edition appeared in 1982, and was later included in the 2003 publication of The Revised Critical Edition of The Diary of Anne Frank. These stories show what life in the Annex was like. For example, one story describes Mrs. Van D’s ‘dentist appointment’. Others show life before the Annex, such as telling on the class for cheating. Anne also describes loneliness in the Annex, like missing her friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Pick-Goslar</span> Close friend of Anne Frank (1928–2022) and Holocaust survivor

Hannah Elisabeth Pick-Goslar was a German-born Israeli nurse and Holocaust survivor best known for her close friendship with writer Anne Frank. The girls attended the 6th Montessori School in Amsterdam and then the Jewish Lyceum. During The Holocaust, they saw each other again whilst imprisoned at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Goslar and her young sister were the only family members who survived the war, being rescued from the Lost Train. Both emigrated to Israel, where Hannah worked as a nurse for children. They shared their memories as eyewitnesses of the Holocaust.

Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl was one of the people who helped to hide Anne Frank and the other people of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam. He was the father of helper Bep Voskuijl, who is known as "Elli Vossen" in the earliest editions of Het Achterhuis, known in English as The Diary of Anne Frank. Voskuijl himself is named "Mr. Vossen." Voskuijl built the famous bookcase that covered the hiding place.

The Diary of Anne Frank is a 1967 TV film based on the posthumously published 1947 book The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The teleplay was directed by Alex Segal and it was adapted by James Lee from the 1955 play of the same name by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. The film starred Max von Sydow, Diana Davila, Peter Beiger, Theodore Bikel and Lilli Palmer.

Mi Ricordo Anna Frank is a 2010 Italian television film directed by Alberto Negrin. The movie was based on the 1997 book Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend written by Alison Leslie Gold about the friendship between Anne Frank and Hanneli Goslar.

<i>My Best Friend Anne Frank</i> 2021 Dutch film directed by Ben Sombogaart

My Best Friend Anne Frank is a 2021 Dutch biographical drama film directed by Ben Sombogaart. The film tells the story of the friendship between Hanneli Goslar and Anne Frank and the story is told from Goslar's perspective. The film is based on Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend written by American author Alison Leslie Gold. It is the first Dutch cinema film about the life of Anne Frank. Aiko Beemsterboer plays the role of Anne Frank and Josephine Arendsen plays the role of Hanneli Goslar.

References

  1. Blair, Jon (June 8, 1995), Anne Frank Remembered (Documentary, Biography, War), Anne Frank House, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Disney Channel, retrieved November 9, 2021
  2. "Writers, Translators, and Artists of the Center for Writers and Translators | The American University of Paris". www.aup.edu. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  3. "Mentors: Alison Leslie Gold - Los Angeles Review of Books". December 28, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  4. Via Newsday . "Story of Anne Frank's life retold by woman who helped hide her", The York Dispatch , May 11, 1987. Accessed May 12, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Gold who grew up in Bayside, Queens, was working on a TV project about Bergen-Belsen four years ago when she learned about the Gies family and their role in the Frank story"
  5. "Biography - Alison Leslie Gold". www.alisonlesliegold.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  6. "hydraecologists: Literary lions and lines of Hydra". hydraseal.blogspot.no. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  7. "Alison Leslie Gold | mediterranean poetry". www.odyssey.pm. May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  8. "Alison Leslie Gold, Kluitman".
  9. "Remembering Ted Greenwald, The Poetry Foundation".[ permanent dead link ]
  10. "The Arbor Bed and Breakfast".
  11. "IMDB Thor Gold". IMDb .
  12. Miller, George (March 7, 2018). "Alison Leslie Gold, 'salvager of other people's stories'". Podularity.
  13. Des Pres, Terrence (May 10, 1987). "Facing Down the Gestapo". The New York Times . Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  14. "Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend". Publishers Weekly . September 29, 1997. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  15. Wiesel, Elie (April 9, 2015). "From the archives: Elie Wiesel on Anne Frank". Chicago Tribune . Translated by Hauptman, Martha Liptzin. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  16. Quotation published on back cover, first hardcover edition of Anne Frank Remembered, Simon & Schuster, 1987
  17. Quotation published on back cover of first hardcover edition of Fiet's Vase, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2003
  18. Medwick, Cathleen (September 2003). "Fall Fiction". O, Oprah Magazine: 202.
  19. Maddox, Brenda (August 9, 1992). "Messing with History". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  20. O'Farrell, Padraic (July 6, 1991). "Book review". Langford Reader.
  21. Kelley, Stephanie (April 20, 2018). "Book review". The Times Literary Supplement.
  22. Erman, John (April 17, 1988), The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank , retrieved August 31, 2016