The Auerbach Will

Book excerpt: A poignant and unforgettable rags-to-riches family saga following three generations of a remarkable clan from downtown ghetto to Park Avenue opulence Marrying Jack Auerbach was Essie Litsky’s salvation, enabling her to break free of her strict Russian-Jewish immigrant parents and escape New York’s poor, dirty, overcrowded Lower East Side. Together with her husband, Essie amassed a fortune that dwarfed their wildest dreams: She was living in a grand mansion on Park Avenue, collecting priceless art, even conferring with a US president. But money could never buy the affection of family or compensate for the true love Essie let slip away. And now, as she nears the end of her life, she must contend with blackmail and heartless legal assaults coming at her from all sides, the result of the ugly, persisting greed of her own children and grandchildren. But Essie is not dead yet, and those who underestimate the remarkable old woman are in for a shocking and powerful surprise. In this New York Times bestseller, Stephen Birmingham, acclaimed chronicler of the lives of the super-rich and author of “Our Crowd”, introduces three generations of a singular family as it moves from poverty to privilege over the course of a cataclysmic century, led by one of the most endearing and unforgettable heroines in modern American fiction.