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The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America

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Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER An Economist Best Book of 2024 • A Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2024 Legendary editor Judith Jones, the woman behind some of the most important authors of the 20th century—including Julia Child, Anne Frank, Edna Lewis, John Updike, and Sylvia Plath—finally gets her due in this “surprising, granular, luminous, and path-breaking biography” (Edward Hirsch, author of How to Read a Poem). At Doubleday’s Paris office in 1949, twenty-five-year-old Judith Jones spent most of her time wading through manuscripts in the slush pile and passing on projects—until one day, a book caught her eye. She read it in one sitting, then begged her boss to consider publishing it. A year later, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl became a bestseller. It was the start of a culture-defining career in publishing. During her more than fifty years as an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, Jones nurtured the careers of literary icons such as Sylvia Plath, Anne Tyler, and John Updike, and helped launched new genres and trends in literature. At the forefront of the cookbook revolution, she published the who’s who of food writing: Edna Lewis, M.F.K. Fisher, Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey, James Beard, and, most famously, Julia Child. Through her tenacious work behind the scenes, Jones helped turn these authors into household names, changing cultural mores and expectations along the way. Judith’s work spanned decades of America’s most dramatic cultural change—from the end of World War II through the civil rights movement and the fight for women’s equality—and the books she published acted as tools of quiet resistance. Now, based on exclusive interviews, never-before-seen personal papers, and years of research, her astonishing career is explored for the first time in this “thorough and humanizing portrait” (Kirkus Reviews). Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books


Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2024


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982134348


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 41


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #250,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #30 in Book Publishing Industry #103 in Journalist Biographies #149 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs


#30 in Book Publishing Industry:


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • a sensualist’s story of a life well-lived
Format: Kindle
The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. Franklin is a lovingly written biography about a savvy and compassionate woman thriving in a man’s world. Despite infusing the publishing industry with pioneering cookbooks, and stuffing the coffers of Knopf publishing with little appreciation from Alfred A. Knopf, president Blanche Wolf Knopf, or subsequent editor-in-chief, Robert Gottlieb, Judith Jones was dedicated to building relationships with her authors. The Editor is heartbreaking and bracing, as Jones leverages her passion amidst sexism, and defines food in America while cultivating lifelong friendships with fellow sensualists. I finished the last pages holding sorrow for the loss of an era when editors had more time to work with authors, and deep sense of satisfaction from a life well-lived. This biography is a must read for food lovers, cookbook consumers, and food writers. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024 by Marta Lane

  • It depends on what you are looking for
Format: Hardcover
If you want an in-depth biography of Judith Jones that fleshes out who she was as a person, the complexities of her interpersonal relationships with friends, family, colleagues and those she edited, this book will disappoint. In this area the book, for the most part, felt flat. (Her relations with Theodore Roethke and John Updike would be the exception here as those connections were written about with a level of depth.) If you want to really understand Judith Jones solely as an editor and her significant, historic, place in the publishing industry, this book is for you and you will enjoy it. I think writing a biography must be, for many reasons, one of the most difficult genres in which to write. I appreciate Franklin's effort and have enormous respect for all of her research. In fairness to my critique, I heard an interview with Franklin in which (if my memory serves) she said that "The Editor" was not the "definitive" biography of Jones. Franklin was admirably humble and accurate in her assessment. And it should not be overlooked that the subhead for the book is "How publishing legend Judith Jones shaped culture in America." It is that, without question. It is not, in my opinion, as the front flap states "an intimate biography." (I almost wonder if Franklin spent so much personal time with Jones that she was just too close to her subject to have perspective--which, if this is the case, is understandable.) But that's ok because this book is many other things that will be of value for readers who are deeply interested in the publishing world. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2024 by Thoughtswordsbooks

  • The Editor – a Biography of Judith Jones
Format: Hardcover
If you are interested in reading about the publishing career of the woman who edited Julia Child's cookbooks (and those by many other famous cooks), and was the person who recommended that The Diary of Anne Frank be published in English in the United States, you will want to read this biography of Judith Jones. Well-researched and well-written, it is exceptional. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2025 by Pookah

  • Interesting and worthwhile
Format: Hardcover
This was a pretty good read. I was eager to learn more about Judith Jones and I did. The writing wasn't all that good at bringing Judith to the page. For a biography of this size, photographs would have been a huge addition. Perhaps they were not available or would have made publication too costly? Strangely, the author's acknowledgments were the most moving part of the narrative. This was curious and almost laughable. It's like she was accepting her academy award and thanking every person she ever met in her entire life. As a documentarian, it's especially strange she did not include photos. I'm looking forward to reading The Tenth Muse soon. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2024 by Jane Evans

  • A good read
Format: Hardcover
Fascinating story, well told.
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2026 by H. Singer

  • One of those books you feel sad when you end
Format: Hardcover
For anyone interested in books, food, women, friendship, travel, and nature, this is a rare treat. It’s engaging and inspiring. Among other things, it caused me to pull out some cookbooks I hadn’t consulted for many years, because Judith Jones has edited them. She was a visionary in improving Americans’ taste in food. But also fiction, poetry, history…what a life well lived. Many thanks to the author Sara Franklin for capturing her essence in such a warm way. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024 by Coastal woman

  • You Have to Start as a Secretary! Really?
Format: Hardcover
Haven’t finished reading it. Well written. Great story. So many women of a certain age will appreciate how she was viewed/often treated like a secretary. Also interesting to learn how the big publishing companies developed.
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2025 by Napolikid

  • Judith Jones - the genius behind the curtain
Format: Hardcover
Not only is Jones a truly fascinating partner for many, many fine writers, her story of the golden years of 20th century publishing is beautifully rendered by the author. Jones and her brilliant orchestration of craft and market was a rare gift.
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024 by Pam S

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