The Empty Mirror - Paperback

by Lisa El Hafi (Author)

The Empty Mirror chronicles the parallel lives of Frances Austin and Addie Stanford, two women who come of age in the Roaring Twenties. Born in small-town Pennsylvania, the women independently move to New York City during the wildest years of the Jazz Age. Their trials in business and love reveal the rapidly changing roles of women in society.

Frances and Addie embrace their newfound freedom, exploring Harlem's speakeasies and dance clubs while meeting the luminaries of the literary and theatrical world, including encounters with Harpo Marx, Harold Ross, and Dorothy Parker. However, youthful optimism meets the jarring realities of social and religious convention, and the women struggle to find themselves in the flux dealing with antisemitism and inequality.

The protagonists find themselves in Miami during the historic land boom, which portends financial calamity and the foundering of their dreams for success. The Empty Mirror depicts these turbulent years from two women's perspectives who, despite different backgrounds and upbringings, unexpectedly find common cause in the world.