In Recognition of Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

I usually like fiction written by poets; add a feline narrator, and I’m likely to enjoy the book. Such is the case with The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. I was reminded of the book when I read Schaeffer’s obituary in the Chicago Tribune several weeks ago. Not only did she write this delightful, witty narrative (which should appeal to dog and cat lovers alike), but she also received the Centennial Review award for poetry and was nominated for a National Book Award for Poetry for Granite Lady. Schaeffer, who received her first rejection slip from Ladies’ Home Journal at the age of eight, has written a truly amazing variety of well-researched novels that come alive with memorable characters and places. Some of her other books are:

Anya: (1974) Based on hours of stories told to her by actual Holocaust victim Anya Brodman, Schaeffer’s details seem real because most of them are. Many readers find Anya one of the most memorable characters ever presented in literature.

The Madness of a Seduced Woman: (1984) This novel is based on an actual murder trial in Vermont early in the century. Agnes Dempster is tried for the murder of her romantic rival and pronounced insane, largely on psychiatric testimony that Agnes's insanity resulted from "the madness of a seduced woman." Schaeffer examines her character’s motives as seen through the speculations of lawyers, friends, and her father.

The Injured Party: (1986) Schaeffer offers an intense, chilling portrait of a woman at mid-life. When Iris returns home from the hospital, where she has been treated for a fever of unknown origin, she is unable to leave her bed or talk to her devoted husband or her two children. Her depressive spell is interrupted by the arrival of John, the long-lost lover of her youth, who has decided to spend the last months of his life (he is terminally ill) with Iris and her family. Schaeffer reveals the inner workings of the family and the psychological changes of middle age with this complex character.

Buffalo Afternoon: (1989) The protagonist, Brooklyn-born juvenile offender Pete Bravado, joins the army at seventeen to escape his brutal father. Once in Vietnam, Pete experiences the boredom, bone-chilling fatigue, terror, and all of the atrocities of war. Like many others, he must eventually come to terms with what he has seen and felt. (Schaeffer spent years listening to Vietnam veterans in order to write this book.)

The Golden Rope: (1998) Doris and Florence Meek, identical girl twins, spend their days chasing butterflies through the Vermont woods, their mirrored gestures a sign of their uncanny connection. Eventually, Florence trades the intimacy of twinhood for marriage and a successful career as an artist. Left behind, Doris settles into a life of self-pity and depression, made worse by Florence's mysterious disappearance. Only when a writer requests her help in piecing together Florence's biography does Doris come to realize that Florence wasn't the person she seemed to be.

The Snow Fox: (2004) In this exhaustively detailed portrait of medieval Japan, Schaeffer displays the treacherous politics of court life and the way women are both coddled and restricted. When the powerful Lord Norimasa insists that renowned poet Lady Utsu poison the only man she has ever loved because he is a traitor, she is forever changed.

Poison: (2006) Schaeffer writes a saga loosely based on the turbulent life and loves of poet Ted Hughes. Writer Peter Grosvenor has always been almost as famous for his womanizing as he is for his poetry. After both his first and second wives commit suicide, Peter considers himself poisonous to women. Years later, after his death, Peter's third wife, desperate to preserve her wealth, engages in a battle of wills with Peter's two grown children, his sister, his would-be biographer, and his last, perhaps truest, love.