Harvard Book Store Virtual Event: Julie Klam

presenting The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters: A True Story of Family Fiction
in conversation with MATTHEW KLAM

Harvard Book Store, Politics and Prose, and Books & Books welcome bestselling memoirist JULIE KLAM—author of Friendkeeping and The Stars in Our Eyes: The Famous, the Infamous, and Why We Care Way Too Much About Them—for a discussion of her latest memoir, The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters: A True Story of Family Fiction. She will be joined in conversation by her brother and fellow writer MATTHEW KLAM, author of the Sam the Cat and Other Stories and Who Is Rich?: A Novel.

Ticketing

There are two ticket options available for this event.

Admission Ticket – $33.25: Includes one admission link and one hardcover copy of The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters. US shipping also included. Books will be shipped to ticket-holders following the event. Please note: we are unable to ship internationally.

Free RSVP Ticket (limited quantity): Includes one admission link.

About The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters

Ever since she was young, Julie Klam has been fascinated by the Morris sisters, cousins of her grandmother. According to family lore, early in the twentieth century the sisters’ parents decided to move the family from Eastern Europe to Los Angeles so their father could become a movie director. On the way, their pregnant mother went into labor in St. Louis, where the baby was born and where their mother died. The father left the children in an orphanage and promised to send for them when he settled in California—a promise he never kept. One of the Morris sisters later became a successful Wall Street trader and advised Franklin Roosevelt. The sisters lived together in New York City, none of them married or had children, and one even had an affair with J. P. Morgan.

The stories of these independent women intrigued Klam, but as she delved into them to learn more, she realized that the tales were almost completely untrue.

The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters is the revealing account of what Klam discovered about her family—and herself—as she dug into the past. The deeper she went into the lives of the Morris sisters, the slipperier their stories became. And the more questions she had about what actually happened to them, the more her opinion of them evolved.

Part memoir and part confessional, and told with the wit and honesty that are hallmarks of Klam’s books, The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters is the fascinating and funny true story of one writer’s journey into her family’s past, the truths she brings to light, and what she learns about herself along the way.

Praise for The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters

“Julie Klam opens the vault of her family history to tell the stories of four amazing women. The Morris sisters lived with pluck, passion, and vision at a time when women were encouraged to live lives of quiet desperation. In learning about them, Julie acquired new perspectives on work, family, and love. This is a life-changing primer for those looking to live out loud.” —Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife

“In a world where more and more people think a DNA test will solve all their family mysteries, Julie Klam reminds us that investigating our personal myths takes resourcefulness, curiosity and, yes, bravery. Because as she deconstructs the legends about the Morris sisters, Klam also has to challenge the legends she has manufactured for herself. A moving, insightful family detective story that will leave readers wondering if they dare to examine their own lives and the stories on which they rest.” —Laura Lippman, New York Times-bestselling author of Lady in the Lake

“This is the America I want to see—the one where four orphaned immigrant sisters can transform themselves into chain-smoking millionaires. Julie Klam’s trademark wit and generosity make this family history a balm for the soul.” —Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk