While the author is not Jewish, City of Slaughter (Daniel and Daniel Publishers, Inc.) by Cynthia Drew is beautifully written from a Jewish perspective, with meticulous research that provides a powerful picture of the plight of women at the beginning of the 20th Century and the obstacles they were forced to overcome. Recipient of the Forward National Literature’s Silver Award in the category of Historical Fiction, City of Slaughter is an exceptional work of historical fiction that is both exciting and inspiring and takes readers back in time to see the world through the eyes of another culture. This profound historical tale has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the most honored literary project in America.

When her parents are murdered by Cossacks during a raid on the shtetl, Carsie Akselrod flees with her younger sister Lilia, touching off a turbulent journey that ends eight months later on New York’s Lower East Side. Plunged into the immigrant chaos of the most crowded square mile on earth, the two girls take sweatshop jobs – Carsie as a milliner’s apprentice and Lilia at the ill-fated Triangle Waist Company. It never occurs to Carsie that in her haste to live the life she strives for in America she hasn’t stopped to lament her parents’ deaths.

Life in the tenements is definitely not what Carsie envisioned for her new life. When her first love, a gangster named Arnold Rothstein, leaves her for a showgirl she smothers her grief and anger once more. But when her sister is killed in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, (until 9/11 the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City), Carsie is powerless to mourn in any way and is haunted by all she has lost in her struggle to be American. Alone and on the edge of madness, she tries to fight back against everything that has wronged her.

Set against Tammany Hall politics, gangland crime, and the rise of the American garment trade, City of Slaughter runs the gamut of human emotion in a tale of a woman torn by love, family, faith and a drive for fulfillment to claim her place in New York’s fashionable high society.

This profound historical tale, told through the lives of rich and engaging characters, propels readers into a time where faith, hope and inner strength were pivotal to a woman’s survival. The rave reviews on this extraordinary story confirm how the unexpected turns of events that take place in the life of its lead character make for a gripping read, not easy to put down.

Cynthia Drew’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and she teaches Creative Writing at UNC/Asheville’s Reuter Center. She worked for several years in New York’s garment district, where she became aware of the sweatshops that even today are peopled by immigrants. For more information on Cynthia Drew and her heartfelt debut novel, please visit her website at: www.cynthiadrew.com.

Available at fine bookstores, online outlets and author’s website
City of Slaughter
By Cynthia Drew
Publisher: Daniel & Daniel
ISBN-10: 1564745147
ISBN-13: 978-1564745149