When two brave women flee from the Communist Red Scare, they soon discover that no future is free from the past.Amid the glitz and glamour of 1950s New York, Phoebe Adler pursues her dream of screenwriting. A dream that turns into a living nightmare when she is blacklisted—caught in the Red Menace that is shattering the lives of suspected Communists. Desperate to work, she escapes to London, … escapes to London, determined to keep her dream alive and clear her good name.
There, Phoebe befriends fellow American exile Hannah Wolfson, who has defied the odds to build a career as a successful television producer in England. Hannah is a woman who has it all, and is now gambling everything in a very dangerous game—the game of hiring blacklisted writers.
Neither woman suspects that danger still looms . . . and their fight is only just beginning.
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This was a WONDERFUL book. I couldn’t put it down. While many have written about WW2 and the Sixties, the period between the two when McCarthyism flourished and many people were persecuted and stripped from their careers, because of “Communist” leanings, was lesser known but a poisonous time in our history. What I didn’t know was that so many Americans suffering under the Blacklist decamped for Britain. I know that now. And I talked to Sarah-Jane about all of it on my Second Sunday Books Podcast (Soundcloud or Anchor FM or wherever you get your podcasts). Learn more about this fascinating historical time period.
Stratford’s novel effortlessly walks the line between hilarious and harrowing in her account of the tribulations of the victims of the blacklist — all told from a perspective that is unique and refreshing. And I simply adored the heroines Phoebe and Hannah, crafted from Stratford’s meticulous research and fabulous imagination.
Timely – a story of what can happen when a government decides what it is acceptable to think. A diversity of ideas is important to a free society.
I really enjoyed this book. Great characters and learned a lot about the McCarthy Red Scare. Very interesting
Is it possible to give this 5,000 stars? So well written and thoroughly researched, Sarah-Jane catapulted us into a time most Americans would very much like to forget, but we need to remember. Like Radio Girls (if you haven’t read that one, please do) she finds this moments in time with small but incredibly mighty characters who are worth spending time with.
Red Letter Days is a blacklist-era game of cat and mouse that’s positively Shakespearean in its witty dialogue, forged identities, banishments, unexpected romance, and even its drama within the drama. The final lightning-speed pages left me breathless.
Hollywood during the 1950s was a dangerous place to be. Writers, directors, and actors were all being watched. There were accusations of communism being written into productions to corrupt America. Some of those blacklisted fled to other countries hoping to be able to continue working. This is the story of Phoebe Adler who was blacklisted, subpoenaed and fled to London hoping to find a way to make a living.
I was not very familiar with this era in Hollywood but was intrigued at how quickly people pointed fingers just to save themselves and how quickly the American Government accepted those names without real proof and let others off the hook. I was ashamed at how many Americans’ accepted this for the truth not bothering to find out what the whole story was. I guess a time shortly after a war can change your outlook on life and your neighbors.
Phoebe was brave to step out on her own, in a different world than she was used to, and without any support from her friends. I love how she took chances, weighed her options, and managed to still be okay. This was not the life she wanted, and she knew she had to be cautious but she still lived, loved, and made something of herself. The people she met in London were willing to help her, protect her, and guide her on ways to keep herself safe and I love that she was accepted into their family of blacklisters.
Phoebe was finally making some money for her scripts and getting well known, but then for some reason she was tagged as being a communist by the government and blacklisted by the playwrights.
Phoebe had no idea what she did to be tagged, but she decided to leave the country and head to London where there was someone who would take her scripts no matter who or what she was.
We follow Phoebe on her trip across the ocean and when she arrives in London determined to make a name for herself in the seven weeks she was granted to be in the country.
I enjoyed the characters in RED LETTER DAYS. LOVE the cover.
Phoebe was funny and lovable and eager to take chances. Hannah was talented but flighty. Phoebe’s sister, Mona, was upbeat even though her life wasn’t.
We see the historical struggles and worries that play writes had at this time and how the blacklisted writers could get into deep trouble.
Historical fiction fans, fans of the theater and television productions, and fans of Robin Hood will enjoy RED LETTER DAYS.
Ms. Stratford did marvelous, in-depth research, but The Robin Hood pages that took up a great deal of the book actually were of no interest, and that did make the story drag for me. 3/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Fairly singing with tension and triumph, Sarah-Jane Stratford’s RED LETTER DAYS plunges you directly into the dark days of McCarthyism, as courageous women writers on the blacklist struggled to win back their lives and careers. Stratford weaves fact and fiction into a tale that serves as entertainment, warning, reflection and homage wrapped up in one highly readable package.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Red Letter Days” by Sarah=Jane Stratford, Berkley, February 25, 2020
Sarah-Jane Stratford, Author of “Red Letter Days” has written an intense, intriguing, captivating, compelling and thought-provoking novel. The Genre for this novel is Historical Fiction. The timeline for this story is set in the nineteen fifties, during the McCarthy trials. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. There are betrayals, and some characters are desperate to survive at any cost.
Phoebe Adler, a young woman from New York is hoping to write for television. This is at a time when women are not supposed to get roles based on merit. It angers many men that a talented woman writer could possibly take a job away that belonged to him. It is also a time of prejudice and fear as writers, and other artistic people are being blacklisted for being Communists.
Phoebe has been successful in her writing attempts and is shocked when she is fired and blacklisted as a Communist sympathizer. Phoebe has been trying to also support her ailing sister, who is in a hospital. Feeling, she has no choice, Phoebe leaves America and heads for London.
Hannah Wolfson is a successful American producer in London. Helen does hire “blacklisted: Americans, although it is very dangerous. She has to take certain precautions. Some Londoners resent that the Americans get the jobs. In London, just like America, women are looked down upon, expected to marry, and have children, and not take jobs away from men.
Hannah does hire Phoebe, and they try to right what is wrong in society, but is it the correct timing? Little do they realize the danger, and the persistence of those who are seeking revenge.
I appreciate the amount of research that the author has done to provide the details in this story. The author vividly describes the witch hunts and prejudice in this story. I highly recommend this thought-provoking novel for those readers who appreciate Historical Fiction.