Split At The Root: A Novel in Three Acts

Temple Beaupre is a charming high-spirited young woman who comes from a background of privilege in the mid-20th century deep South, a society poised on the cusp of change. Having been raisedwith one foot in the small town provincialism of Zenobia, Mississippi and the other in the forgiving sophistication of New Orleans, Temple believes herself to be a true child of the South, but one who nurtures renegade values. Split at the Root chronicles her evolving conscience from the innocent postwar years through the turmoil of civil rights as she journeys into the past to examine the ways in which secrets transform our lives.

Leah Napolin made her Broadway playwriting debut in 1975 with Yentl, since performed widely here and abroad. In 2013 the play was revised and songs in the musical genres of folk, rock, bluegrass and klezmer added by the singer-songwriter Jill Sobule. Other work followed: Aristophanes' Retreat; The Dogs of Pripyat; and, War Baby 1935-1950, an illustrated memoir. She is a member of P.E.N. and the Dramatists Guild, and the winner of the John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award for The Dogs of Pripyat.