About this Event
About Pam Jenoff
Pam Jenoff is the author of several novels, including THE SOCIETY OF FORGOTTEN WIVES (to be released Feb 2027), New York Timesbestsellers Last Twilight in Paris, Code Name Sapphire, The Woman with the Blue Star, The Lost Girls of Paris, The Orphan's Tale, andThe Diplomat's Wife, as well as The Kommandant's Girl, which received widespread acclaim, earned her a nomination for the Quill Awards and became an international bestseller. She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in Europe, as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a practicing attorney at a large firm and in-house. She received her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, her masters degree in history from Cambridge University and her bachelors degree in international affairs from The George Washington University. Pam Jenoff lives with her husband, three children and five pets near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school at Rutgers.
About THE SOCIETY OF FORGOTTEN WIVES
Inspired by true events and her own family history, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff tells a sweeping story of missing husbands, buried secrets, and the women who come together to reclaim their power
"You want to place an ad for your missing husband?"
New York, 1919. After grief and scandal shatter her carefully ordered world, Hazel Brister leaves her privileged upbringing behind for a new life on the Lower East Side. Working at a small newspaper, she is trying to build a future from the wreckage of her past. But when a woman name Freya arrives asking for help finding her vanished husband, Hazel is pulled into a mystery she never expected.
Hazel discovers there are a number of women who share Freya's bizarre predicament, left to support children, survive disgrace, and piece together lives suddenly upended. She agrees to help them, in hopes of discovering the truth behind the missing husbands and writing the newspaper story about it that will launch her long-forgotten dream of becoming a journalist. Determined to uncover the truth, Hazel joins forces with an unlikely circle of sharp-witted, resourceful women, following a trail of secrets through the streets of New York to cities beyond. But their searches are blocked at every turn by cryptic secrets from the past and dark forces who want to stop them from finding the answers they seek.
As Hazel digs deeper, she realizes the mystery reaches far closer to home than she ever imagined, forcing her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about her family—and herself. What begins as a search for the missing men grows into something far greater: a testament to the lives women can build when they refuse to be defined by others. Inspired by extraordinary true events, The Society of Forgotten Wives is a transporting story of female solidarity, survival, and reclaiming one's own destiny.
Praise for THE SOCIETY OF FORGOTTEN WIVES
"Pam Jenoff is back with another fascinating historical novel about a forgotten chapter of the past. In The Society of Forgotten Wives, she tackles the tale of several women in post-World War I New York City whose husbands have abruptly disappeared—based on true stories and inspired by Jenoff's own family history. Filled with unforgettable characters, colorful details of early 20th century journalism, and the cleverly interwoven threads of a tantalizing mystery, The Society of Forgotten Wives is a delight!"
—Kristin Harmell, New York Times bestselling author of Meet Me in Paris
“"Pam Jenoff never fails to delight! Her latest takes us to post WWI New York City, where society girl Hazel trades her privileged upbringing for independence, a Lower East Side apartment, and a job at the local newspaper. When a Jewish housewife comes to place an ad for her missing husband, Hazel finds herself embroiled in the mystery of not just one but several vanished men...and a trail of secrets leading deep into her own family's past. Sharp, incisive, and warm-hearted, The Society of Forgotten Wives is destined to please!”
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Astral Library
“A stirring portrayal of a disparate group of women who, united in their search for their missing spouses, refused to be cowed by the harsh judgments of society. Jenoff’s meticulous depiction of 1919 New York City is spot on, from the smoky bars of the Bowery to the hallowed halls of the Met, and her protagonist Hazel is the ideal ringmaster. At its heart, the novel is a magnificent exploration of marriage and what it means to be a wife, but more importantly, what it means to be a woman.”
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Jewel of Sugar Hill
"Another triumph by beloved author Pam Jenoff! Venturing into fresh and fascinating historical territory, The Society for Forgotten Wives draws readers into a page-turning mystery set in 1919 New York, centered on a string of abandoned women and vanished husbands. A testament to the enduring power of female perseverance.”
—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of Daughter of Egypt and A Pair of Aces
Event venue & nearby stays
Morgenstern Books, 849 S. Auto Mall Rd., Bloomington, United States
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