Judith Krantz (née Tarcher; January 9, 1928 – June 22, 2019) was an American magazine writer, fashion editor, and novelist. Her first novel Scruples (1978) was a New York Times best-seller and was translated into 50 languages. Scruples, which describes the glamorous and affluent world of high fashion in Beverly Hills, California, helped define a new sub-genre of the romance novel — the bonkbuster or "sex-and-shopping" novel. She also became a "celebrity author" through her extensive touring and promotion. Her later books included Princess Daisy (1980), Mistral's Daughter (1982) Till We Meet Again (1988), Dazzle (1990), and Spring Collection (1996). Her autobiography, Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl, was published in 2000.

Biography

Early years

Judith Bluma-Gittel Tarcher was born on January 9, 1928, in New York City, the daughter of Mary (Braeger), a Lithuanian-born attorney, and Jack D. Tarcher, an advertising executive. Her family was Jewish. The "youngest, smartest, and shortest girl" in her year, she graduated from the Birch Wathen School at age 16. Krantz then enrolled at Wellesley College.

Krantz told The Boston Globe in 1982 that she attended Wellesley with three goals: to date, to read every novel in the library, and to graduate.

In 1953 Krantz attended a Fourth of July party hosted by her high school friend, Barbara Walters. There she met the future film and television producer Steve Krantz. The two were married the following year, on February 19, 1954. Three years later, she gave birth to their first son, and she gave up her full-time job, choosing instead to write part-time from home. Her magazine career gave Krantz an opportunity to interview many prominent women. It concerns the fabulously wealthy and glamorous Daisy, daughter of a Russian prince, who has to confront and overcome many harsh realities. The book is notable for having received one of the most scathing reviews ever written, by Clive James. Krantz continued her run of success with Mistral's Daughter (1982) (a multi-generational saga) and I'll Take Manhattan (1986), (about writer and socialite Maxi Amberville, a thinly disguised portrait of the author). Till We Meet Again (1988) which starts in the music halls of 1910s Paris and continues on until after the Second World War, was the last to make the annual top ten bestseller lists, though the later novels continued to be popular.

Spring Collection (1996) returns to the world of fashion, while The Jewels of Tessa Kent (1998) explores mother-daughter relationships; Krantz reportedly had a difficult relationship with her own mother. She retired from writing that year at the age of 70, saying she had nothing left to say to her readers.

Family

Krantz served on the advisory board of Compassion & Choices, an organization dedicated to providing choices for the dying. In 2006, she joined the Board of the Los Angeles Music Center.

Krantz's husband, Steve Krantz, died in 2007 of pneumonia. The couple had two sons, Tony Krantz and Nicholas Krantz, both of whom reside in the Los Angeles area.

Works

Novels

  • Scruples (1978) (adapted as a 1980 miniseries)
  • Princess Daisy (1980) (adapted as a 1983 miniseries)
  • Mistral's Daughter (1982) (adapted as a 1984 miniseries)
  • I'll Take Manhattan (1986) (adapted as a 1987 miniseries)
  • Till We Meet Again (1988) (adapted as a 1989 miniseries)
  • Dazzle (1990) (adapted as a 1995 miniseries)
  • Scruples Two (1992)
  • Lovers (1994)
  • Spring Collection (1996)
  • The Jewels of Tessa Kent (1998)

Non-fiction

  • Sex and Shopping: The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl (2000) (autobiography)

Original television work

  • Judith Krantz's "Secrets" (1992 TV 65-episode serialized drama; only shown internationally; not based on a source novel)
  • Torch Song (1993) (adapted as a 1993 made-for-TV movie)

Further reading

  • Hughes, Sarah. 'What trashy novels taught me about life', Observer Books, 31 January 2021
  • James, Clive. 'A Blizzard of Tiny Kisses', in London Review of Books, 5 June 1980
  • Syme, Rachel. 'Revisiting Judith Krantz’s “Scruples,” a Novel with a Passion for Clothes' in The New Yorker, 25 June 2019

References

  • Books by Judith Krantz at Publishers Weekly