Sue's Bookshelf

September 2023

By Sue Littauer

I don’t know if your kids roll their eyes like mine do when I’m telling family stories, but I know these stories are what bind families together. One of the stories in my family was that we were related to Bess Myerson, or Bessie, as she was known to her friends and family. For those of you who don’t know, Bess Myerson was the first and only Jewish Miss America and was crowned in 1945. Wikipedia calls her the most famous pretty girl since Queen Esther!

I recently read an advanced reader’s copy of the book “Bessie” by Linda Kass about the late Bess Myerson. Intrigued and remembering family stories, I reached out to my brother, my dad’s first cousins, and my first cousins. What’s the story about us being related to Bess Myerson? Everyone had heard about the connection and the consensus was that our grandparents and her parents were neighbors and close friends. Apparently, my dad babysat her sister Sylvia, my uncle dated her younger sister Helen, and Bessie had offered to get my aunt on her long-running TV game show “The Big Payoff.” Although not related, I have to admit I’ve always been fascinThe novel “Bessie,” which is to be published on Sept. 12, is historical fiction and describes her early life growing up in the Bronx, taking piano and flute lessons, attending Hunter College, and being crowned Miss New York City. She entered the Miss America contest hoping to win a $5,000 cash prize, which she could use to attend graduate school, further her love of music, and help her family financially. She never actually dreamed that the Miss America Pageant would crown a Jewish girl. Antisemitic undertones and slights, both real and perceived, surrounded her during the pre-pageant activities. Once crowned Miss America, she expected her appearances to be first-class engagements, but in actuality were second-rate and seedy. At this point, Bess reached out to the ADL and spoke out against bigotry and hatred. Her speeches were themed “You Can’t Be Beautiful and Hate.”

From the author: “Just days after the close of World War II, the insecure, scholarly, and musically gifted daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants from the Bronx rises to a place where she represents an ideal against all odds. She grows up in an antisemitic American country filled with all kinds of bigotry, all too similar to our country today.”

The author hopes this novel will inspire us as readers to become the best we can be — to stand up to antisemitism and bigotry as we struggle to make a difference in the world.

“Bessie brings to vivid life the coming of age of Bess Myerson, Miss America of 1945. In Kass’s hands she becomes every woman and the amazing story of her time becomes the story of our time, too.”– Lisa Scottoline, New York Times best-selling author of Eternal.

During the renovation period, library programs will continue. See jewishcharlotte.org/cje for more information. A lending library program will be available in the teen room, directly across from the library on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 10am –2pm, and on Sundays from 10am – 12pm. E-books, online resources, and book drop locations will be accessible throughout the renovation.

For inquiries email library@jewishcharlotte.org