One of Them by Kitty Zeldis
“Kitty Zeldis has written an emotionally deep, moving story of the power of compassion, understanding and friendship with a message sadly just as timely today that needs to be heard, remembered and heeded.”
Kitty Zeldis is a prolific author and gifted storyteller who ably captures the zeitgeist of the time period immediately following WWII in her well-crafted novel One of Them which focuses on two college girls struggling with identity and discrimination. It’s an unusual coming of age story involving anti-Semitism in Ivy League universities prevalent at the time. These Vassar coed freshmen coped very differently with their heritage. Anne Bishop was mourning the sudden death of her father by heart attack which left her orphaned at 16 but well-off financially. She stopped using her first name Miriam and did not disclose she was American born Jewish but rather pretended to be a Gentile in order to fit in with the most popular clique of privileged WASP students. As a result of this pretense Anne no longer faced insults and snubbing as she had in the past when she was uninvited to parties held in ‘restricted’ hotels and clubs. Repressing the natural malaise evoked by casually dropped anti-Semitic slurs which were no longer directed at her, she happily attended teas, mixers, social events and always had a seat at the lunch table with the “in-crowd”.
The Proud Outsider
Delia Goldhush is also a freshman but unashamedly Jewish and definitely not a member of any sorority or ‘inner circle’. She is a brilliant scholar, strikingly attractive and ostensibly indifferent to being the outcast loner in the class. While the other girls shopped only at select upscale New York department stores, nonconformist Delia was more of a gypsy, drawn to shopping for the kind of quality, timeless apparel that could only be found in second-hand stores. She sported a vintage mink coat and dark red-beret with great aplomb. Her father Simon is an American art dealer who had resided for many years in Europe. Delia’s mother Sophie was his Parisian wife who had been a well-known sculptor, tragically left behind in their desperate rush to flee Nazi-occupied France on the last ship to sail for America. Their apartment, furnishings and a warehouse full of artworks had to be abandoned. A friendly neighbor later conveyed to them Nazis had invaded their home and killed Sophie.
Betrayal and Consequences
Problems begin to arise when Anne attempts to conceal from the other girls her developing friendship with an outsider. She is torn between loyalty to Delia and her fear of being shunned but ultimately betrays their friendship by aligning with the other girls led by vehemently anti-Semitic Virginia who reveals a secret that results in Delia’s unfair expulsion.
One of Them continues through Anne’s junior year studying in Paris, an unexpected encounter with Delia that slowly rekindles a tentative friendship, boyfriends and some dangerous adventures with a detour in Palestine. Time and life experiences alter the behaviors of both young women as they mature and Anne grows to embrace her religious heritage.
A Post-War World Still Healing
The overwhelming deaths, deprivation and uncertainties of the war left the survivors struggling to recover and re-establish social norms. The hardworking, patriotic Rosie the Riveters and Wanda the Welders began leaving the work force in droves as members of the Armed Forces returned to civilian life. Industrial jobs reverted to men while women were encouraged to marry, have children and return to domestic life. The GI bill assisted many to resume or begin higher education and/or purchase homes. The baby boomer generation was launched! The horrors of war remained too excruciatingly tortuous in memories that many people, particularly refugees, found themselves unable to talk about their experiences. The term “Holocaust”, which had referred to large-scale destruction by fire or massacre did not fully acquire the present-day foremost definition specifying the horrific Nazi extermination of Jews until after the mid-1950s.
Post-war Anti-Semitism with its rampant job discrimination and prejudice, although typically surreptitious, remained prevalent. There was widespread acceptance of exclusionary or restrictive covenants in housing for purchase or rent. Many social and civic organizations, country clubs, and other recreational clubs, children’s camps, schools, colleges and universities continued to ban or segregate blacks, Jews, Native Americans and Asians. Possibly not since Laura Z. Hobson’s 1947 best-selling novel Gentleman’s Agreement has so much light been shed on the anti-Semitism that was rampant in New York and the refined enclaves of Connecticut. This novel about a reporter who poses as Jewish to investigate housing and job discrimination was adapted into a screenplay written by Moss Hart and a powerful film directed by Elia Kazan starring Gregory Peck which won 3 Academy Awards including Best Picture of 1948.
With One of Them, Kitty Zeldis has written an emotionally deep, moving story of the power of compassion, understanding and friendship with a message sadly just as timely today that needs to be heard, remembered and heeded.
Kitty Zeldis is the pen name of a Brooklyn based author of nine novels, numerous essays, articles and works of short fiction as well as forty books for children.
Publish Date: September 9, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Author: Kitty Zeldis
Page Count: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper
ISBN: 978-0063352841