Suggested Reading: "Summer at Tiffany" by Marjorie Hart (2007)

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A fun and enjoyable little book. In "Summer at Tiffany" by Marjorie Hart, the author recalls her memories of the summer of 1945 - the year she along with her freind and fellow Iowan, Marty Garrett, travelled to New York City to spend the summer in Manhattan. With a lucky connection and some persaverance in the face of slight adversity, the girls soon found themselves working as the first female employees on the sales floor at the world famous Tiffany and Co. on East 57th Street.

This is the tale of two midwest born and raised young women on the loose n New York City and the things they experienced. Of course they were interested in obtaining some male companionship in the form of some respectful Military men, and of course, being the good looking gals they were, they easily scored themselves a pair of dashing sailors who escorted them around the big city to some of the more fancy night clubs of the city.

The ladies were in town and were witness to the events of the day of July 28th, 1945, the day a small aircraft crashed into the Empire State Building in the mid-morning fog and Marjorie recounts how they and the rest of the city felt about the tragedy.

Of course the War was on when they arrived in the city, but by August the girls were able to experience the celebrations when millions gathered in Times Square when the long battle finally drew to a close with the surrender of Japan.

These and the other summer adventures enjoyed by the ladies, along with stories about working at Tiffany and seeing celebrities and mobsters purchasing expensive jewelry, make up the bulk of the story. Included are the texts of several letters Marjorie wrote to her parrents back in Iowa that summer.

After the summer ended, Marjorie went back to Iowa. She made a Christmas-time return visit to the city in December 1945 to visit her sailor. She then continued on with her life, and did not return to New York City until 2004, nearly 60 years later. In 2007 her memories of an amazing and exciting summer of youthful adventure spent in the most amazing city in the world were published as she herself turned 83 years old.