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Jennifer Cody Epstein is the author of the novels ''
The Painter from Shanghai ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'', ''
The Gods of Heavenly Punishment ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', '' Wunderland'' and '' The Madwomen of Paris.''


Life

Epstein resides in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
with her husband and daughters. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fiction from Columbia University, a Masters in International Relations from Johns Hopkins and a bachelor's degree in Asian Studies and English from Amherst College. She has written for ''
Lit Hub ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and ''Electric Literature'' ...
'', ''
McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...
'', '' Bookriot'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', ''
The Asian Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...
'', ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'' (Thailand), ''
Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
'', and '' Mademoiselle'' magazines. Epstein has also worked in Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan, where she lived for five years as a student, teacher, and journalist, as well as in Hong Kong and Bangkok. She was a finalist for the 2024 Edgar Award for Best Novel, was long listed for the 2020 Simpson/Joyce carol Oates Literary Prize, and was awarded the 2014 Asia Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Award for fiction. She currently teaches creative writing at Stony Brook University's Lichtenstein Center. and has also taught at Columbia University in the United States, and internationally at
Doshisha University , also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japa ...
in
Kyoto, Japan Kyoto ( or ; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the ninth-most pop ...
. Epstein’s debut novel, ''The Painter from Shanghai'', is the fictionalized biography of
Pan Yuliang Pan Yuliang (, 14 June 1895 – 22 July 1977), born as Chen Xiuqing, also known as Zhang Yuliang (張玉良), is remembered as the first woman in China to paint in the Western style. She studied in Shanghai and Paris, and taught at the Beaux-Arts ...
who lived from 1895 to 1977. She was a female Chinese painter who was revolutionary in bringing Western painting styles to China. It took Epstein ten years to complete the novel, which she has noted “is not a factual account of Pan Yuliang’s life,
t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...
a re-imagining.” Epstein did much research, helping her to accurately portray the characters and the period. The novel was an international bestseller, published in 14 countries. Her second novel, ''The Gods of Heavenly Punishment'', is a fictional work exploring America's 1945 firebombing of Tokyo from both Japanese and American perspectives, but especially from that of young Yoshi Kobayashi. In the book, Yoshi has to struggle with the destruction of her city, life, love and secrets. This novel was a work of fiction that allowed Epstein to return to her fascination with Japan, where she had been first an exchange student, then a journalist. Her third novel, ''Wunderland'', was inspired by actual events. It is set in Nazi Germany, postwar Germany and 1980's
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, told through the lens of two close childhood friends torn apart by
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was roughly inspired by Melita Maschmann's 1963 memoir "Account Rendered," in which Maschmann details her girlhood infatuation with National Socialism, and her devastating betrayal of a close friend who was Jewish. Epstein's fourth novel, ''The Madwomen of Paris'', is set in the Salpêtrière asylum during Paris's turn-of-the-century hysteria "epidemic." Praised as "beautifully crafted" and "a haunting narrative that showcases Epstein at her best" by Publishers Weekly, and "a fascinating look back at a condition with modern-day resonance" by ''Science Magazine'', the book explores the treatment and public presentation of Salpêtrière hysterics, as well as the hypnosis and research performed upon them by the pioneering neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and the medical luminaries--including Sigmund Freud, Josef Babinski and Georges Gilles de la Tourette--who studied under him. It was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2024.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Jennifer Cody Writers from New York City Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women novelists Novelists from New York (state) Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Amherst College alumni 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers