Summer at Tiffany

Book excerpt: The New York Times-bestselling memoir of two Iowa girls in 1945 New York City: “Hart has a genuine gift for conveying the texture of midcentury Manhattan.” —USA Today “Although the country is still at war, Manhattan during the summer of 1945 is an intoxicating place, especially for two fresh-faced young coeds who step off a train from Iowa armed with little more than their youthful exuberance and the name of a very influential contact. The combination is enough to land Marjorie and her best friend, Marty, jobs as pages at the prestigious Tiffany & Co., making them the first female employees ever to work the sales floor. From this groundbreaking vantage point, the girls see and do it all, from assisting notorious gangsters and international playboys at the jewelry counters, to rubbing elbows with celebrities at the city's legendary nightclubs, to glimpsing General Eisenhower during his triumphant victory parade . . . Remarkably, this winsome memoir was written 60 years after that giddy summer spent pinching pennies and dreaming of diamonds, yet Hart’s infectious vivacity resonates with a madcap immediacy, delectably capturing the city’s heady vibrancy and a young girl’s guileless enchantment.” —Booklist “[A] warm account of more innocent times.” —Kirkus Reviews “[A] glorious once-upon-a-time fairytale come true. . . . I loved every moment!”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times-bestselling author of The Good Left Undone “Reminiscent of The Best of Everything.” —BookPage “Hart writes about that stylish summer with verve, recollecting with a touching purity a magical summer in Manhattan, seen through the eyes of two 21-year-olds, just as the end of World War II approached.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer Includes photographs