Cynthia Freeman
Cynthia Freeman was an American author who began her writing career in her fifties after a prolonged illness led her to explore novel writing as a creative outlet. Born around 1915 to parents Albert and Sylvia Freeman, she married physician Herbert Feinberg in 1938 and had two children. Despite her limited formal education, Freeman had a successful career as an interior decorator before transitioning to writing, which she viewed as a personal fulfillment rather than a pursuit of fame or wealth. Her literary works primarily focus on multigenerational family sagas and romantic dilemmas, often characterized by engaging but sometimes one-dimensional characters and plots that some critics have described as lacking depth. Notable novels include "A World Full of Strangers" (1975), which addresses themes of identity and heritage, and "Come Pour the Wine" (1980), which showcases the search for Jewish roots in New York. Freeman's work, while occasionally criticized, has resonated with readers, leading to sales of over twenty million copies and translations into thirty-three languages. She continued to explore themes of Jewish identity and anti-Semitism in her posthumous novel "Always and Forever" (1990). Overall, Freeman's writing offers a mix of compelling characters and accessible narratives that appeal to a broad audience.
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Subject Terms
Cynthia Freeman
Author
- Born: c. 1915
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: October 22, 1988
- Place of death: San Francisco, California
Biography
Cynthia Freeman began her writing career when she was in her fifties. She became a writer on a whim when she was forced into inactivity by a protracted illness and decided to amuse herself by creating a novel. Although always interested in writing, Freeman did not find her literary niche until late in life, and she chose to write multigenerational novels and family sagas that some view as great reading and others as textual soap operas.
Beatrice Cynthia Freeman was born around 1915, the daughter of Albert and Sylvia Freeman. She married Herbert Feinberg, a physician, in 1938, and the couple later had two children. Freeman’s educational background is sketchy, but apparently she attended the University of California and was an interior decorator for many years, an occupation which fulfilled her until she turned to writing. In an interview, she demystified writing, maintaining it was not an enigmatic art or a prescribed destiny; she said she wrote because she liked to write, fulfilling a creative impulse, and that the act of writing had, for her, very little to do with fame or money. Her novels explore family dynamics and romantic predicaments that have been described as eminently and compulsively readable, even though characters may be one-dimensional and events thinly plotted. Her novels possess reader appeal for their engrossing characters who engage and interest readers who simply want to know what will happen to them.
Some critics have described her first novel, A World Full of Strangers (1975), as preposterous, but readers enjoyed the underlying conflict of a Jew who goes underground to hide his ethnic background and the lengths employed to keep his identity secret over several generations. In Come Pour the Wine (1980), a good read is provided by easily accessible characters, who, although they may lack depth, prove constantly engaging. In this novel, a young model moves to New York and searches for her Jewish roots. No Time for Tears (1982) provides a more ambitious scope, with the Palestinian fight for an independent Jewish state as its backdrop. The novel has been described as “inspirational” and “poignant.” Other romantically themed novels carry similarly romantic titles: Catch the Gentle Dawn (1983), Illusions of Love (1984), and Seasons of the Heart (1986).
Always and Forever, published in 1990, two years after Freeman’s death, deals with her perennial themes of Jewish issues and anti-Semitism. The book involves star-crossed lovers who are emotionally distanced by the turmoil produced by the heritage of the Holocaust. Although critics have panned several of Freeman’s novels, they remain fascinating to readers, who, despite outlandish plots and alien social milieus, become involved with Freeman’s intriguing characters. Her books have sold more than twenty million copies and have been published in thirty-three languages.