The Forgotten Singer

"A son's memoir written in penetrating vignettes."
-Foreword Reviews

"Moving... worthy insights into Kreitman's psyche"
-Publisher's Weekly

The Forgotten Singer, published in English for the first time tells the story of the author's mother, Esther Singer Kreitman, a literary genius who was overshadowed by the fame of her brothers, I.J. and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Set in the interwar period, Carr's poignant and evocative writing portrays the struggles and triumphs of Esther's life, including her battle with epilepsy, her tumultuous relationship with her mother, and her determination to make a mark as a writer in a time when women were not celebrated. In fact, Esther was the first of the Singer siblings to write, only to find herself outcast from her literary family.

The Forgotten Singer is also a meditation on the mother-son relationship, a failed marriage, and life as a Jew in the interwar period. Carr's writing is urgent, irreverent, timely, and unaffected, proving it's never too late to celebrate an unsung hero of the written word.

Maurice Carr (born 1913 in Antwerp, died 2003 in Paris) was a writer, essayist, translator, journalist, and son of Esther Singer Kreitman and nephew of writers Israel Joshua and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Carr was a Parisian correspondent for the Reuters Agency and editor of Izrael Magazine. As a journalist he worked for the BBC, the Daily Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post, Maariv, Haaretz, and Commentary Magazine, among many others. Under the literary pseudonym of Martin Lea, he published the novel The House of Napolitano.