The Editor: Behind the Scenes of Success and a Revolution in the Publishing World

From the author’s first idea to publication, the way is led by an editor—one of the key figures in publishing. It is editors who often remain in the shadows of loud names, influencing literature no less than the writers themselves. But the path to recognition in the book industry is not easy, especially if you are a woman in the 20th century. That was Judith Jones: over half a century of working “behind the scenes,” she significantly reshaped the literary landscape—from New York to Paris.

When she joined a publishing house, Judith refused to accept the role typically assigned to women—a secretary. With a rare literary instinct and persistence, she built a brilliant career in a world where men set the rules. John Updike, Ann Tyler, John Hersey—just a few of the authors she introduced to readers around the world. Her taste and editorial boldness helped bring to the public Sylvia Plath’s candid poetry, Anne Frank’s searing diary of life under Nazi occupation, and also Julia Child’s famous cookbooks, familiar to many through film adaptations starring Meryl Streep.

This is an inspiring story of a woman in love with books who went against society’s expectations and chose her dream. Historian Sarah Franklin traces her long journey—from assistant to editor-in-chief—full of victories and setbacks, meetings and farewells, and above all, with hope.

“ could never find a portrait of Judith that even partially conveyed her inquisitive mind and delicate taste, her multifaceted nature and perceptiveness, her ingenuity and cunning… In working on this book, I tried to do her justice—both as an editor and as a woman” (Sarah Franklin).