Lore Segal, the renowned Austrian-American author celebrated for her autobiographical novels and short stories, passed away on Monday at 96. Her literary journey began after she fled Nazi-occupied Vienna as part of the Kindertransport, ultimately leading her to England and then the United States. Can you share with us the themes that define your work?
Segal’s writing is marked by a distinctive wry and insightful voice, exploring themes of displacement, assimilation, race, memory, and mortality. Throughout her prolific career, she authored five novels, 13 short stories—many featured in The New Yorker—along with four translations and eight children’s books. Her fourth novel, “Shakespeare’s Kitchen,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.
What influences have shaped your writing?
“I was influenced by my own life experiences,” Segal once noted. Born Lore Vailer Groszmann in Vienna in 1928 to a Jewish family, she fled to London in December 1938, shortly after Hitler’s annexation of Austria. This escape was part of a British initiative to rescue primarily Jewish children. In the UK, Segal lived with five different foster families, an experience she later drew upon for her debut novel, “Other People’s Houses,” published in 1964. After the war, she pursued English literature at Bedford College, University of London.
That must have been a significant adjustment.
Absolutely. After a period in London, Segal and her mother moved to the Dominican Republic while waiting for family immigration visas to the U.S. The visas finally arrived in 1951, leading Segal and her family to Washington Heights in New York. She took on various jobs as a clerk, secretary, and textile designer, and it was during a creative writing class that she met Horace Cayton. Their relationship inspired her third novel, “Her First American,” published in 1985.
How did your personal life influence your writing?
After her relationship with Cayton ended, Segal married David Segal, who later became an editor at Knopf. They had two children, Beatrice and Jacob. Following her husband’s unexpected death from a heart attack at 42, Segal’s mother helped care for the children as she concentrated on her writing.
Your perspective on life is quite fascinating.
Segal often expressed her curiosity about the nature of “interesting.” Her friend and critic Vivian Gornick recalled a moment when Segal left Vienna—observing others crying at the station while she felt strangely detached. “How interesting,” she thought, “that I am not crying.” Years later, she looked back at that incident as pivotal, choosing to embrace life’s complexities rather than succumb to sorrow.
What do you believe made your storytelling resonate so deeply with readers?
“She had an incredible talent for finding life ‘interesting,’” said Natania Jansz, Segal’s UK publisher. “She transformed its accidents, griefs, and puzzlements into narratives that, while appearing to carry a mild irony, unveiled profound truths with keen wit and honesty.”
Segal’s Pulitzer-nominated work “Shakespeare’s Kitchen” is a collection of 13 stories centered on a group of intellectuals from a Connecticut think tank. In 2023, she released “Ladies’ Lunch,” a novella that explores aging through the conversations of a group of elderly friends reflecting on their lives.
What a remarkable legacy you have crafted. Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights with us.
