* * *
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Although I honored the true history of Miss Subways, many of the details of the selection process, photo shoots, etc., are from my imagination, as records of these specifics are unavailable. Charlotte, Rose, and the other contenders for Miss Subways July 1949 are fictionalized, but all of the other Miss Subways mentioned are based on actual winners. I took the liberty of changing Thelma Porter’s Miss Subways month to March 1949 for the purposes of the story; she was actually April 1948.
The frontispiece photo and photos here are courtesy of Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941–1976 by Fiona Gardner and Amy Zimmer, Seapoint Books.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I first heard about Miss Subways while listening to a Radio Diaries episode called “‘Miss Subways’: A Trip Back in Time to New York’s Melting Pot,” produced by Samara Freemark on NPR’s All Things Considered. It was the fall of 2013, and I nearly had to pull my car over. I was immediately fascinated by this slice of New York City history, and as I delved more deeply, I became smitten and thought it would make a wonderful topic for a book.
It wasn’t until 2016 that I began writing The Subway Girls, so I had plenty of time to let the story marinate and evolve into what you’ve just read. After researching Miss Subways online, I devoured the book Meet Miss Subways, by Fiona Gardner and Amy Zimmer. Fiona and Amy tracked down forty-one Miss Subways and photographed and interviewed them about their experiences. The result was pure gold for my research, so my first thank-you is to Fiona and Amy for all their hard work creating such an important and comprehensive tribute to the history of Miss Subways. Fiona, thank you so much for meeting with me and sharing your experience. I’m delighted to be the next torch holder. If you are interested in learning more about Miss Subways, I highly recommend Fiona and Amy’s book.
What an honor to speak with past Miss Subways Ruth Lippman (January 1945), Enid Berkowitz Schwarzbaum (July 1946), and Mary Gardiner Timoney (May–June 1953), who generously shared their memories and impressions about both the Miss Subways program itself and what it meant to them. Peggy Byrne (March 1952) graciously invited me into her home to tell me about her experience.
My research also brought me to the wonderful New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn, where I had the opportunity to sit on historic trains and look up at preserved Miss Subways posters as if I were back in the 1940s. I was lucky enough to meet a museum-goer who remembered Miss Subways and shared his memories with me. Thank you to Desiree Alden-Gonzalez, archivist and acting collections manager of the New York Transit Museum, who answered my inquiries skillfully and with great enthusiasm.
Thank you, Carly Watters, literary agent extraordinaire, who gave me the wonderful author experience of “The Call.” I have loved working with you and appreciate everything you have done for me. I’m so excited to be on your team.
Thank you, Alicia Clancy, for acquiring the manuscript for St. Martin’s Press. And thank you to my editor, Lauren Jablonski, for grabbing the torch and taking us through the finish line. I’m thrilled to be embarking on this journey with you.
Thank you to the incredible marketing and PR team at St. Martin’s Press: Brant Janeway, Jordan Hanley, and Brittani Hilles, and to Chrisinda Lynch, Anna Gorovoy, Kerri Resnick, Kaitlin Severini, Yolanda Pluguez, and everyone else at St. Martin’s who made this book a reality.
Thank you, Crystal Patriarche, my first book cheerleader, for all of your confidence in me and encouragement over the years and for giving me your blessing to fly out of the nest. And to the whole team at BookSparks, a tremendous thank-you for your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm.
Thank you, Nicola Kraus, for your brilliant and constructive early insight into the manuscript and your tremendous support.
Thank you to my friends and early readers/supporters/venting recipients/book-deal celebrants, especially Marcia-Elizabeth Baker-Thompson, Rene and Mike Benedetto, Sharon and Andrew Cooper, Karen Cousin, Jill and Larry DeLuise, Penny Kosinski, Beth and Larry Lipman, Lauren Mandell, Bets Miller, Elizabeth Moyer, Sally Paridis, Richard Rosenzweig, David Shorrock, Cherylanne Skolnicki, John Thomas, Allison Wohl, and Lauren Zucker.
Special thanks to Annabel Monaghan, my “coworker,” who has been a true rock for me throughout this process, an astute and encouraging first reader, and an excellent and hilarious friend. “Chicago is good. Paris is great.” I owe you a trip!
I am fortunate to be part of such a supportive industry and I treasure the friendships I have developed with other authors in the last few years through events, The Balance Project interviews, and online. Thank you, Cristina Alger, Jenna Blum, Jamie Brenner, Kristin Contino, Fiona Davis, Elisabeth Egan, Abby Fabiaschi, Liz Fenton, Elyssa Friedland, Kristin Harmel, Brenda Janowitz, Emily Liebert, Lynda Cohen Loigman, Sarah McCoy, Eileen Palma, Amy Poeppel, Lisa Steinke, and Beatriz Williams for your guidance, referrals, and support.
And the bloggers and book champions! So much love especially to Andrea Peskind Katz (you are incredible), Jenny O’Regan, and Melissa Amster.
Thank you, readers. You are so wonderful and motivating.
Thank you to my family (thanks, Dad, for your edits!). I am lucky to have such a loving team behind me.
And, most of all, thank you, Judson, William, Jason, and Rick, for absolutely everything good in my life.
ALSO BY SUSIE ORMAN SCHNALL
On Grace
The Balance Project
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susie Orman Schnall grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, HuffPost, POPSUGAR, Writer’s Digest, and Glamour. She is also the author of the award-winning novels On Grace and The Balance Project. Susie has spoken extensively on work-life balance and is the founder of The Balance Project interview series. She lives in Purchase, New York, with her husband and their three sons. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Historical Note
Acknowledgments
Also by Susie Orman Schnall
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE SUBWAY GIRLS. Copyright © 2018 by Susie Orman Schnall. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photographs: woman © H. Armstrong Roberts/Getty Images; skyline © javarman/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Schnall, Susie Orman, author.
Title: The subway girls / Susie Orman Schnall.
Description: First Edi
tion | New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017056741 | ISBN 9781250169761 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781250169778 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS3619.C446545 S83 2018 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017056741
eISBN 9781250169778
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: July 2018
1. To learn more about the history of Miss Subways and to read interviews with the winners, I recommend Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941–1976 by Fiona Gardner and Amy Zimmer (Seapoint Books, 2013).
The Subway Girls_A Novel Page 25