It’s almost three years since I stayed in with Ralph Webster to chat all about his book One More Moon in a post you’ll find here. I so enjoyed that experience that I simply had to invite Ralph back to tell me all about his latest book.

Staying in with Ralph Webster

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag Ralph. Thanks so much for staying in with me. 

First Linda, please let me thank you for the invite.

You’re most welcome. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I am grateful to have the chance to spend another evening together and share with you a little about my newest book, The Other Mrs. Samson. I hope readers will find the story of Katie, Hilda, and the husband they share compelling and emotional – a bird’s eye view of what it was like to survive the world wars of the last century. While neither a romance novel nor a war story, their story is about privilege, struggle, and love. And the thing about love, as most of us know, is that it can sometimes be complicated. I think that makes The Other Mrs. Samson an engaging conversation that book clubs will enjoy. My wife Ginger even gave me book club discussion questions to include in the book.

Your wife sounds like a very useful person to have around. I’m in a book group so I’ll have to tell them about your book. I understand that The Other Mrs. Samson was released yesterday so a belated Happy Publication Day Ralph.

Thanks Linda!

What can we expect from an evening in with The Other Mrs. Samson?

I thought your readers might enjoy the introduction because it does explain how I came to write this story.

2020

Perhaps it was the pandemic, because I do have a lot of time on my hands, but my search for furnace filters more likely explains how I happened upon the long-forgotten small black lacquered cabinet. It had been carefully tucked away in the corner of the attic, along with a few other items we brought back from Katie’s New York apartment the week after she died.

The cabinet was curious, something others might consider an antique of some value or perhaps even a work of art. Age and travel had given it a few dents and bruises, but it seemed to have survived intact from a journey that must have been quite far. It was not exceptionally large, little more than fourteen inches tall, sixteen inches wide, and twelve inches deep. The face and sides were inlaid with various symbols, intricate designs trimmed with silver and gold. Behind two beautifully decorated doors were seven small shallow drawers, three pairs of two with a larger single beneath.

As I recall, neither of us had any idea why Katie had kept it, where it came from, or what its use may have been. The drawers were empty when we retrieved it from her apartment, and we had no recollection of her ever speaking of the cabinet’s existence. At the time, our only observation was that it was out of place. Her furniture tended to be more in the art deco style, not of Oriental origin, as the cabinet appeared. And to be perfectly honest, I am unable to remember why we saved it and didn’t consider consigning it to a reputable auction house where, despite its wear, it might have fetched a good price.

When we returned from New York, it went to the attic because, like many things, there was no other place to put it and we didn’t have the heart to give it away. I imagine our attic was no different from most, out of sight, out of mind, where we stored assorted things of questionable worth, objects of little use but too sentimental to part with, saved from the past with the unfounded hope that the next generation might claim them.

That afternoon, almost absentmindedly, I decided to dust it off. I must have tugged a little too hard on the bottom drawer or done something to cause its release because, when I pulled it open, the drawer slid out of the cabinet frame. That’s when I was surprised to discover the hidden compartment located below the drawer and was even more amazed by its contents. Inside were batches of letters wrapped in ribbons, a small leather-bound notebook with gilded pages, and a sheaf of pages tied together with a piece of brown string.

Most stories start at the beginning. But as you can see, this one begins at its end. I was given no choice. The answers were found in that order.

That’s brilliant Ralph. Of course I immediately want to know what happens. So, what else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I’ve brought the cabinet of course Linda.

That looks wonderful I can quite see why you kept it. 

I suppose most of us have things like this in the attic.  Sometimes all one needs to do is look below the drawers and find the secrets that have been left behind!

Thanks so much for staying in and telling me about The Other Mrs. Samson Ralph. As soon as I have given blog readers the information they need about your new book I’m off into the attic to see what I can find!

The Other Mrs. Samson

Surviving two wars, sharing one husband, searching for answers.

A hidden compartment in a black lacquer cabinet left in an attic reveals the secrets of two incredible women: Hilda, born and raised in one of the wealthiest Jewish families in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, and Katie, whose early life in Germany is marked by tragedy and death. Their lives are forever entwined by their love of the same man, the brilliant and compassionate Dr. Josef Samson.

From the earliest, rough-and-tumble days of San Francisco, through the devastation of the Great War in Berlin and the terrors of Vichy France, and then to a new yet uncertain life in New York City, their stories span the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. In the end, one of these women will complete the life of the other and make a startling discovery about the husband they share.

The Other Mrs. Samson is available for purchase here.

About Ralph Webster

Award winning author Ralph Webster received worldwide acclaim for his first book, A Smile in One Eye: A Tear in the Other, which tells the story of his father’s flight from the Holocaust. Voted a Goodreads 2016 Choice Awards Nominee for Best Memoir/Autobiography, A Smile in One Eye: A Tear in the Other, his second book, One More Moon, and now his third book, The Other Mrs. Samson, are proven book club selections for thought-provoking and engaging discussions.

You can find out more by visiting Ralph’s website and finding him on Amazon and Goodreads. You can also follow Ralph on Twitter @Ralph_Webster.