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The Days of Winter
A family saga and tumultuous love story involving a well-born and socially prominent British Jew, a girl in Bucharest who is patronized by royalty, his disapproving family, and her fierce, humane determination
374 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1978
172 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Freeman
29 books59 followersBeatrice Cynthia Freeman (January 10, 1915 - October 22, 1988), pseudonym of Bea Feinberg, was an American novelist. She was born in New York City, where, as a young girl, she began writing books but abandoned writing to pursue a career running an interior decoration business. When poor health forced her to give up her business, she decided to dust off an old manuscript from childhood but discovered the cleaning lady had thrown it out. From memory, she rewrote the story.
Ms Freeman specialized in multi-generational stories of Jewish families, centering on a female protagonist. Her novel, "No Time For Tears," was No.10 on the list of bestselling novels in the United States for 1981 as determined by the New York Times. Her books were translated into thirty-three languages, selling more than twenty million copies worldwide.
Cynthia Freeman died of cancer in San Francisco in 1988,[1] aged 73.
Ms Freeman specialized in multi-generational stories of Jewish families, centering on a female protagonist. Her novel, "No Time For Tears," was No.10 on the list of bestselling novels in the United States for 1981 as determined by the New York Times. Her books were translated into thirty-three languages, selling more than twenty million copies worldwide.
Cynthia Freeman died of cancer in San Francisco in 1988,[1] aged 73.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 29, 2014
Epic saga set within WW1&2, encompassing the intimate lives of the European rigid upper class and free spirited bohemians.
Freeman is a master storyteller of the study of personal motivations and relationships, of love, betrayal, and hope. At the core of the story are multi faceted characters that become so familiar they make readers feel their happiness or suffering.
In 1914 a quiet engaged young aristocratic Englishman on a solo vacation in Paris escapes from his rigid confining life, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, into a free spirit, but the price he must pay is to carry his deeply ingrained ethics of propriety and guilt. His tepid experiences with emotions and love for family and romances have never burned brighter than a candle, until he falls passionately in love
with a beautiful cynical young cafe singer, leading to choices of family above self, wealth vs. meagerness, social outcast vs. pioneering modern anti elitist snobbery. While the young cafe singer transforms into an elegant majestic beauty, through the tutelage of a grand dame Countess and a very prim old world head housekeeper, the complete immersion into the upper class luxury lifestyle which is ordinary to those born with a silver spoon, becomes the exams she must pass to gain entry, but it is her cynical tough survival spirit that is tested in order to stay in the upper class circles. But the major plot elements are the wars, their religious choices and the impact on their lives.
As WW2 begins, her daughter is seduced by a self serving playboy who denies their child his name to protect from Nazi bloodline hunters. The final act of sacrifice for a child with Jewish blood is made through a maze of false identities, false papers and a life given willingly.
It is a warm tapestry of historical fiction woven with colorful threads of the lives that could be anyone's ancestors or placed in modern times.
Freeman is a master storyteller of the study of personal motivations and relationships, of love, betrayal, and hope. At the core of the story are multi faceted characters that become so familiar they make readers feel their happiness or suffering.
In 1914 a quiet engaged young aristocratic Englishman on a solo vacation in Paris escapes from his rigid confining life, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, into a free spirit, but the price he must pay is to carry his deeply ingrained ethics of propriety and guilt. His tepid experiences with emotions and love for family and romances have never burned brighter than a candle, until he falls passionately in love
with a beautiful cynical young cafe singer, leading to choices of family above self, wealth vs. meagerness, social outcast vs. pioneering modern anti elitist snobbery. While the young cafe singer transforms into an elegant majestic beauty, through the tutelage of a grand dame Countess and a very prim old world head housekeeper, the complete immersion into the upper class luxury lifestyle which is ordinary to those born with a silver spoon, becomes the exams she must pass to gain entry, but it is her cynical tough survival spirit that is tested in order to stay in the upper class circles. But the major plot elements are the wars, their religious choices and the impact on their lives.
As WW2 begins, her daughter is seduced by a self serving playboy who denies their child his name to protect from Nazi bloodline hunters. The final act of sacrifice for a child with Jewish blood is made through a maze of false identities, false papers and a life given willingly.
It is a warm tapestry of historical fiction woven with colorful threads of the lives that could be anyone's ancestors or placed in modern times.
October 18, 2013
Perhaps it's me becoming more jaded, or more rigid with my BS meter, but I am so bored of novels which "celebrate" stupid women who do stupid things in order to either (a) prove themselves to awful men; or (b) sabotage relationships with men they don't deserve in the first place. In The Days of Winter, you get a bit of both.
Magda, whose allure eludes me, meets Rubin and Rubin is immediately madly in love with her. Thus ensues heartbreak, betrayal, and idiotic behavior that carries across generations.
The intelligent, useful characters are given precious few pages in which to shine - Solange has a backstory that is only referred to, never fully explored. Madame is interesting, as well, but is ignored in favor of the insipid "heroines," who are one-note, cookie-cutter dimwits. I'm not sure why I bothered to stick with it to the end, but the fact that it took almost a month to plow through should tell you that it took effort. It wasn't worth it.
Magda, whose allure eludes me, meets Rubin and Rubin is immediately madly in love with her. Thus ensues heartbreak, betrayal, and idiotic behavior that carries across generations.
The intelligent, useful characters are given precious few pages in which to shine - Solange has a backstory that is only referred to, never fully explored. Madame is interesting, as well, but is ignored in favor of the insipid "heroines," who are one-note, cookie-cutter dimwits. I'm not sure why I bothered to stick with it to the end, but the fact that it took almost a month to plow through should tell you that it took effort. It wasn't worth it.
October 19, 2011
The story of a Jewish mother and daughter and the men they loved.
October 1, 2018
Family saga, set in England and France in the era between world wars; centering on a Rumanian-Jewish cabaret singer who marries a young Englishman, and her daughter, who marries one man while loving another.
Not quite as soapy as it sounds, but close. The villain of the piece is interestingly drawn.
Not quite as soapy as it sounds, but close. The villain of the piece is interestingly drawn.
October 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this book and it’s multigenerational theme of two women who made some bad decisions and later in life corrected them. I thought the characters were sometimes a bit too tragic and thus the four stars instead of five. However they were all vivid and the book kept me engaged in their stories.
December 23, 2018
Esto fue tan hermoso, y ese final... Debo admitir que me gusto mucho más la primer parte, pero Ettiene hizo que la segunda parte valiera la pena totalmente
November 6, 2018
i see her name on book deals a lot so tried one. not my cup of tea
January 7, 2019
The story kept me engaged, and I liked the characters well enough. That said, it was a typical formula romance. The writing was OK, but not exceptional. I rate it an easy read, but nothing special.
June 30, 2019
It's a good read for beginners
September 1, 2019
Read this years ago...
February 24, 2022
Un libro que te hace enamorarte a través de grandes momentos que sucedieron en la historia mundial!
August 6, 2022
I read this years ago great book!!
October 6, 2024
What a great book
February 20, 2025
Excellent
April 5, 2025
Deceit never wins
So many characters with secrets that defy family, friends and the ruling parties! Kept my interest until the wee hours of the day!
So many characters with secrets that defy family, friends and the ruling parties! Kept my interest until the wee hours of the day!
May 5, 2017
Family ties, love and a twist of revenge!
The beginning and end were a little hokey. However, loved the strong and willful female characters and their eventual love stories.
The beginning and end were a little hokey. However, loved the strong and willful female characters and their eventual love stories.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews