A new novel by a Tucson author reimagines the Anne Frank story focusing on her older sister, Margot.
Time reports Jillian Cantor,35, has approached Anne Frank's story from the point of view of her older sister, Margot. In her new book, Margot Cantor writes an alternate fate for Anne's older sister in which she survives concentration camp, escapes captivity alone, and moves to Philadelphia as Margie Franklin. The novel opens in 1959 in the aftermath of her wartime ordeal, Margot has denied her Judaism, hid her camp tattoos, and concealed her identity as the sister of Anne Frank, whose story begins to gain worldwide recognition.
According to TheDailyBeast.com Cantor denied her Judaism growing up, especially after reading Anne Frank's story, but in the aftermath of the Gifford's shooting in Arizona, she turned back to The Diary of a Young Girl to cope with the anguish arisen from the event. It was then that she realized how much she connected with Anne's sister Margot, who had always been overlooked in historical accounts. She said, "As a teen I remembered reading the diary and thinking that I was so much like Anne. But I grew up the older, quieter sister, just like Margot. I realized that if I’d been there in that annex, I would not have been Anne at all, I would’ve been Margot. Margot, whose diary was lost. Margot, who in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has all but been forgotten, while Anne has become an icon of an entire generation."
Margot will be released Sept. 3.
image courtesy of Amazon