Red Letter Days

Red Letter Days by Sarah-Jane Stratford, 384 pages

An up-and-coming screenwriter for a not-that-great crime show, Phoebe Adler is shocked when she's blacklisted. After all, she is just about the least political person ever, preferring to focus on her work and taking care of her sick sister, Mona. But blacklisted she is, and when she receives a subpoena to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Phoebe instead flees to England, where she can hopefully make enough money to be able to send some back to Mona. Enter Hannah Wolfson, a left-leaning journalist-turned-TV producer who is doing all she can to hire blacklisted writers at her new production company. She's convinced that HUAC can't touch them in England, but is she right?

This tale of two women dealing with the Red Scare and Hollywood blacklist is intriguing, and shows a side of this chapter in American history that isn't normally illuminated--that of the women impacted in this 20th Century witch hunt. I enjoyed the book, much more so when I read the afterword, which explains that Hannah is based on a real woman, Hannah Weinstein. A fun read for those who like headstrong women and historical fiction.