Zelda Popkin (née Feinberg; 5 July 1898 – 25 May 1983) was an American writer of novels and mystery stories. She created Mary Carner, one of the first professional female private detectives in fiction. Carner was a store detective who appeared in five novels.

Life edit

Zelda Popkin was married to Louis Popkin, and together they ran a small public relations firm until his death. They had two children, Roy and Richard.

Work edit

Popkin's most successful book was The Journey Home, published in 1945, which sold nearly a million copies.[citation needed] Small Victory, published in 1947, was one of the first American novels with a Holocaust theme, and Quiet Street (1951) was the first American novel about the creation of the state of Israel.[citation needed]

She also wrote an autobiography, Open Every Door (1956), chronicling her childhood, life with her husband Louis Popkins, and life after his death.[citation needed]Herman Had Two Daughters (1968), a novel about two young Jewish women growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, is also largely autobiographical.[citation needed]

Awards edit

Books edit

Mary Carner Crime Series edit

  • Death Wears a White Gardenia (1938)
  • Time Off for Murder (1940)
  • Murder in the Mist (1940)
  • Dead Man's Gift (1941)
  • No Crime for a Lady (1942)

Novels edit

  • So Much Blood (1944)
  • Journey Home (1945)
  • Small Victory (1947)
  • Walk Through the Valley (1949)
  • Quiet Street (1951)
  • Open Every Door (1956)
  • Herman Had Two Daughters (1968)
  • A Death of Innocence (1971)
  • Dear Once (1975)

Non fiction autobiography edit

  • Open Every Door (1956)

References edit

  1. ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 2020-01-19.

External links edit