Scott Fitzgerald is quoted as saying to Ernest Hemingway, “You know the rich are different from you and me.” Novels, movies, and streaming series are often focused on the rich and powerful. As a reader I almost always enjoy them. Their characters lead lives we dream of. They often face "first world” problems: “Darling, the maid quit without giving notice!” or “I can’t possibly wear that old Dior gown to the party. Everybody saw it at the Metropolitan Ball.” We folks may fantasize about those challenges, maybe even envy them, but then return to figuring out how to pay for the new furnace.
Often the problems faced by the wealthy can and are solved with money. Hire a new maid. Buy a new dress at Neiman-Marcus. But in the best stories they inevitably face problems that wealth alone cannot solve: betrayal, infidelity, scandal, and reputational ruin. They’re often ill prepared to deal with their own “real world” problems. Simply writing a check doesn’t work!
Wealth, power, betrayal and romance are powerful themes that intrigue and satisfy readers. Those elements combined with the story of a rich family in turmoil can make the narrative all but irresistible.
That prompted me to begin writing the five-book Feldman Family saga well before the launch of the hit series Succession, which contained many of those themes. Rather, my inspiration came from my decades in the fashion business where clairvoyant designers and merchants were highly prized and all-powerful. Treated like royalty, they used and often abused their power. While the media and stockholders sang their praises and gushed over their runway shows, their associates and spouses were often mistreated, dismissed, or in the case of spouses, divorced. Betrayal was common as these Royals fought to maintain their power.
My fictional Feldman family was ruled by Max Feldman, the founder and CEO/Merchant Prince of Fratelli Massimo with hundreds of stores across the country. In Shelf Life, book one of the series, he betrays his own son, Josh, denying him the company leadership role he had once promised him while selfishly clinging to the power which had long nourished him. A vengeful Josh successfully humiliates, deposes and virtually emasculates Max, but in doing so, Josh reveals his own dark side which resembles his father’s.
Book two, Amy Unbound, focuses on Josh’s wife Amy’s search for fulfillment as her husband becomes a ruthless captain of industry. Josh is dismissive of and even trivializes his high achieving and sexy wife Amy. Because of her frustration on the home front and in the marital bed and because she is wealthy, ambitious and talented, she is free to seek happiness elsewhere. Most women lack that freedom. But will Amy find true fulfillment elsewhere?
I suppose we experience a sort of schadenfreude when the rich and powerful slam into bad fortune that money alone cannot solve while the new maid scurries about or the seamstress works on the new gown. And isn’t that the fun part of the story when Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags get their comeuppance?
Today’s news is replete with just such stories. A short time ago flamboyant Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the once preeminent crypto currency firm FTX, was convicted of fraud and will be leaving his palatial estate in the Bahamas to spend the next 25 years in a federal penitentiary cell. Few weep for him. Nor do folks sympathize with the imperious Elizabeth Holmes, the CEO of the now defunct blood testing firm, Theranos, who has seen her $4.5 billion fortune reduced to zero and awaits her 11-years prison sentence. And to the glee of most readers the tyrannical fictional Max Feldman, once CEO and Chief Merchant in Shelf Life, sees his multi-million net worth shrink to zero, his reputation ruined as he battles with creditors from his bungalow in Florida.
During my career I observed many reversals of fortune among the rich and powerful, whether in the fashion business, entertainment, the law, or financial world. My delight as a writer is determining IF and HOW my characters handle the challenge to the delight or dismay of the reader.
Amy Feldman is at the epicenter of a storm as she confronts the indifference of her husband, Josh, whose personal demons and career obsession threaten to shatter their marriage. Fueled by her determination to liberate herself from the ghosts of the past and an unfulfilling union, Amy seizes the momentous occasion of the inauguration of President Obama as the catalyst for her bold journey. Bidding farewell to her position at a prestigious St. Louis law firm, Amy redirects her passion toward social justice, igniting her transformative odyssey. In the heart of the Chicago Alliance for Social Justice, Amy's commitment to her newfound purpose strains family ties in St. Louis, turning weekends at home into a battleground for a relationship on the brink. As she immerses herself in exciting new opportunities, both professional and intimate, in Chicago and Washington, Josh grapples with the harsh reality that their marriage hangs by a thread. As Josh awakens to this, he is desperate to repair the rift. Facing the looming threat of losing Amy forever, he is confronted with a gut-wrenching choice-accept defeat or muster the strength to rebuild their connection. In a desperate bid to salvage what remains, he concocts a clever ploy to mend the rift with Amy. Yet, Amy, now discovering fulfillment and a burgeoning new love, stands at a pivotal crossroads. The question looms large: Will Amy sacrifice her newfound career and romance, or will she be drawn back into the safe and potentially loving marriage with Josh, her best friend and lover since college? In Amy Unbound, you will witness the collision of love, ambition, family, and commitment as one extraordinary woman navigates the complex journey toward personal and professional fulfillment. The emotional landscape is tumultuous and the stakes are high in this page-turning exploration of Amy's unrelenting pursuit of happiness in this thrilling second installment of the Feldman Family Saga.
Women's Fiction [Jewish Leaders Books, On Sale: June 4, 2024, e-Book, / ]
MARTIN SNEIDER has been a leader in the shoe and clothing industries for more than five decades. Since 1992, he has served as an award-winning adjunct professor at Washington University’s Olin School of Business. A fourth-generation retailer, Sneider started as a shoe salesman and rose to president, chief merchant, and co-CEO of one of the nation’s largest fashion and shoe apparel specialty chains. He served on the Alumni Board of Directors of Harvard Business School, was chairman of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University. In addition to his acclaimed debut novel, Shelf Life, and it sequel, Amy Unbound, he is the author of a nonfiction book on the shoe industry. He has two children and four granddaughters and lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and New York City.
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