About Frances Dinkelspiel

Frances Dinkelspiel is the author of Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California. It tells the story of her great-great grandfather, one of the most influential financiers of the Pacific Coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Frances is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, People Magazine and elsewhere.

Searching for Permanance in a Barnes and Noble

By Frances Dinkelspiel November 21, 2008

I flew from Oakland into the Burbank airport early Thursday morning, where I was met by Ken Wilson, who is known in the publishing business as a media escort. Ken’s specialty is taking authors to book stores to do something … Read More

California’s Politics Can Be Generous or Bigoted

By Frances Dinkelspiel November 20, 2008

The victory of Barack Obama was muted in California, as his historic election was accompanied by the passage of Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage. While lots of other states have outlawed marriage between same sex couples, this is … Read More

What Does a Nice Jewish Girl Wear on Book Tour?

By Frances Dinkelspiel November 19, 2008

For the last eight years, I have immersed myself in the 19th century, learning everything I could about the California gold rush, living on the Western frontier, and banking practices in an unregulated time. It was all part of research … Read More

California’s Christmas Jews

By Frances Dinkelspiel November 18, 2008

Growing up in San Francisco, almost every Jewish family I knew celebrated Christmas. These weren’t half-baked, thrown together at the last minute versions of Christmas, either, sops to a dominant holiday. These were full blown celebrations, with tall trees decorated … Read More

California is Burning – So What Else is New?

By Frances Dinkelspiel November 17, 2008

Frances Dinkelspiel, author of Towers of Gold, is guest blogging this week as one of Jewcy‘s Lit Klatsch bloggers.  Her book is a biography of her great great grandfather, a Jewish immigrant who became one of the West Coast’s most … Read More