Emily Franklin

Critically-acclaimed author for adults and young adults

Books for Adults

Liner Notes

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What’s on the soundtrack of your life?

Just out of grad school, Laney is ready to embark on a new phase of her life. Leaving California to head back east, she’s got 3000 miles to reflect on her past before moving ahead to the future. With a box of mix tapes at the ready, she envisions a trip spent reminiscing about first crushes, high school, family issues, and college loves and losses—her most precious memories. What she didn’t envision was her mother in the seat beside her—which is exactly what happens when her mom invites herself along for the ride. Soon she’s giving her mother a crash course in retro hits from her formative years, and a history of her life that her mom never knew about. As they roll through American landscape, Laney and her mother discover their lives are more than one-hit wonders.

Reviews

“Liner Notes tells the story of two simultaneous journeys—a cross country road trip and a musical voyage down memory lane—that both end up in the same happy place. Like one of the narrator’s prize mix tapes, Emily Franklin’s charming debut novel is a grab-bag of delights.”
—Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children

“This book is a rare one—the gimmick is actually well-executed, making this story as good as it sounds. With realistic characters, fantastic flashbacks, and a great soundtrack, you are sure to laugh, cry and sing along with Laney as you read her Liner Notes.”
—Bildungsroman

The Girls’ Almanac

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“In these charming, wise, and heartfelt stories, friendship is both the tie that binds and a map of the interconnected paths of love.”

The Girls’ Almanac chronicles the lives of Jenna and Lucy—two thirty-something women who desperately long for a true friend—as well as the lives of the women and men who have touched them: friends, lovers, parents, and neighbors. Set across the Northeast-through suburban neighborhoods, preppy camps, island resorts, and Ivy League colleges-as well as far flung locales like Ecuador and Iceland, The Girls’ Almanac traces the friendships of women willing to risk both self-consciousness and intimacy, loss and betrayal, in pursuit of a proper best friend. Exploring the fascinating closeness and distance that female friendships encompass, The Girls’ Almanac reveals the map of Jenna and Lucy’s interconnected lives, and ultimately their pathways to each other.

Reviews

“Franklin’s collection of stories centers on a group of women who are connected tangentially, with two of the characters becoming fast friends in the final story. It highlights the struggle of moving toward and the joy of finding a true best friend. The stories begin in girlhood, travel through adolescence, and progress into adulthood. Some take place in faraway locales like Iceland and Ecuador. Interesting plot lines include one woman dealing with her cheating fiance’s drowning and another woman struggling to bear a child after multiple miscarriages…Each story is appealing and well written…Enjoyable moments are plenty…”- Library Journal

“A weblike illustration mapping the relationships of 30 characters kicks off Franklin’s collection of interconnected short stories… Franklin’s smart prose sees her characters through rites of passage including first sexual encounters, marriage and motherhood, as well as difficulties such as terminal illness, infidelity and widowhood. Highlights include “Kindling,” a story of two roommates and their communal living situation; “A Map of the Area,” set in an upscale hippie retreat; and “The Math of the Fourth Child,” about two women trying to predict the future of a yet-to-be-conceived child… thought-provoking stories pull readers through.”- Publisher’s Weekly

“In these charming, wise, and heartfelt stories, friendship is both the tie that binds and a map of the interconnected paths of love. Emily Franklin has written a wonderful, utterly absorbing book.”- Mameve Medwed author of How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life

“Emily Franklin’s stories are unnervingly perceptive and moving … she has a remarkable talent for diving to the heart of things and spinning a story around that center.”- Lewis Robinson Whiting Award author of Officer Friendly and Other Stories

“Emily Franklin writes beautifully of the essential, pivotal moments in women’s lives. Reading The Girls’ Almanac I find myself smiling in recognition again and again, as mothers, daughters, sisters and friends lift each other’s daily experience to the light and find surprising, healing truths within.”- Heidi Jon Schmidt, author of The Rose Thieves, Darling? and The Bride of Catastrophe

“In these taut, tender, transporting stories, Emily Franklin combines an appreciation of human nature and a flair for language that keeps us reading and wanting more. After I finished these stories, I found myself missing the women who populated them. They’d come to feel like close girlfriends.”- Judith Claire Mitchell, author of The Last Day of the War

“…lovely, keenly observed stories; snapshots of women which, taken together, allow us to see their lives unfold as if we’re leafing through a photo album…”- Laura Zigman, author of Animal Husbandry and Her

“Though told in the present tense, Emily Franklin’s stories have a wistful awareness of the passing of time, and her great attention to detail seems an intricate form of nostalgia.”- Lily King, author of The Pleasing Hour

Too Many Cooks

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“Hilarious and wise, Too Many Cooks celebrates a year in the family kitchen with one mom, four kids, and a picky pediatrician husband.”

“I love my mom and I’m a good cook, and still I can’t help wishing that Emily Franklin would adopt me–or maybe send me a care package. But at least I’ve got her recipes now. And this book, which is the perfect mix of heartwarming and mouthwatering. Yum.” -Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy

“Emily Franklin’s Too Many Cooks is a boon for anyone trying to cook healthy simple meals for children. It is also great fun for those of us who love to peek at the domestic lives of others. Franklin has a warm, unpretentious voice and appealing recipes that are asking to be tried.”-Jenni Ferrari-Adler, author of Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant

Emily Franklin’s food memoir Too Many Cooks was born of two simple loves: food and children. A foodie and former chef, Franklin wants to pass on her love of food and cooking to her kids; she wants them not only to enjoy what they’re eating but to know what they’re eating. So, over the course of a year, she introduces her children to new dishes–some exotic, some thrown together with whatever she has in her cabinets–with varying degrees of success. Undaunted by failure (“This tastes like sand!”), Franklin pursues her culinary mission from the heartland of Indiana to the Umbrian countryside. Some meals conjure visions of pleasure while others are utter catastrophes. Along the way, she discovers how a delicious (or even disastrous) meal can bring families together and feed the soul.

As Franklin chronicles her family’s year around the kitchen table, season by season, she shares original recipes. From comfort, kid-friendly food like Mummy Nuggets, to the more adventurous Saffron Fish Chowder, to food made on the fly like Orange-Oaty-I-Don’t-Know Cookies, each recipe follows a charming or bittersweet or laugh-out-loud anecdote that captures the chaos of cooking for four young kids.

Franklin seasons her stories with how-I-did-it advice on cooking and parenting that makes this such a delightful and inspiring read. And with more than 100 simple, mouthwatering dishes, Too Many Cooks is a happy mix of recipes, memories, and good storytelling.

Listen to an excerpt on NPR

Reviews

“This is one of the best books I’ve read on cooking by instinct. You can’t learn to cook by instinct just from recipes or instructions…although if you follow enough recipes you’ll start to develop instincts…An engaging, funny book on the perils and promise of the kitchen when there are many children underfoot.”-Faith Duran, The Kitchn.com

“This delightfully written memoir puts into practice what [it] preaches. Novelist and former professional chef Emily Franklin chronicles her yearlong mission to introduce her four children to exotic foods from purple potatoes to curried goat. Franklin mixes tales of wonder…with more than 100 recipes that were tested on her own kids. Recipes range from simple (Roasted Broccoli) to imaginative (Crunchy Sesame Tofu).”-The Boston Globe

“Too Many Cooks’ appeal is the real life, day-to-day chronicle of one person’s, Emily, commitment to teach her children about food. We get to tag along with her, experiencing first hand, the trials, tribulations, teachable moments, and end results, of young children as they are introduced to a vast array of ethnic and exotic foods. Side splitting commentary about things like fuzzy footballs (coconuts) keep you turning the pages to discover what other ‘out of the mouth of babes’ stories she has to share.

“Her simple recipes will inspire even the kitchen-phobic to try new things for picky eaters. Like the practical mom she is, Franklin suggests baby steps. Taste-test yummy-sounding recipes on your kids…Adults will like them and the book.-Jewish Woman

“We all know a kid like this—one whose diet consists primarily of hot dogs, pizza and chicken nuggets. Dismayed by her own children’s limited palate, Emily Franklin, a novelist and former chef, decided to embark on a year long culinary journey with her four children—to introduce them to new dishes, both exotic and thrown together, involving them both in the preparation and the partaking. The memoir of that year, Too Many Cooks is a delight to read both for its comedy and wisdom, not to mention recipes for “Many Mushroom Soup,” “Apricot Almond Bread,” and other easy-to-prepare recipes that we may want to add to our own repertoires.”-USA Today

Emily Franklin’s approach is inspirational, turning the kitchen, pantry, markets and restaurants into interactive classrooms for her children. Balancing child rearing, traveling, and just everyday living, she reminds us that what may appear as mundane or ordinary on the surface, can be far from it. Her stories remind us that every moment is a teachable one, if only we would just pause, step back and enjoy them. Her wit and sense of humor are limitless. She provides many kitchen tips that are valuable for moms or dads on the go along with a wonderful blend of recipes, memories, and a fun approach to just plain day-to-day living. This book isn’t just about food, it’s about family and how the two are inextricably intertwined. Whether you’re a foodie, currently raising a family, looking for ways to get the kids (or your husband) to try different foods, or you just need to know that you aren’t alone in trying to figure out how to balance it all, this is the book for you.”-Gourmet Girl

Tell Me How You Got Here

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“In Tell Me How You Got Here, Emily Franklin explores memory, motherhood, loss, and the ways objects-and bodies-may be haunted by the history they carry. The poems are as smart and provocative as they are tender, inviting the reader to ask difficult questions: What can we call ours? What do we lay claim to that can’t possibly belong to us? How might we live with the past rather than try to erase it? Tell Me How You Got Here is an astonishing collection.”
– Maggie Smith, Good Bones

Read “A Cure for Grief” on New Ohio Review.

Read “Epigenetic Inheritance” on The Cincinnati Review.

Read “Tell Me How You Got Here” on Shenandoah.

Read “Japan, Autumn” on Blackbird.

Reviews

“Emily Franklin’s Tell Me How You Got Here is rich with the objects of this world-a stray sneaker on the highway, a garage-sale skillet, “damp frogs small as grapes”-ordinary things and situations revealed as extraordinary, thanks to her original vision and precise language. That most overworked and least understood muscle, the human heart, is the great filter through which these objects pass and accrue their startling beauty. At the end of the book, Franklin returns us to the world, and returns the world to us, redeemed. What more could we ask for from poetry?” – Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi, 2016-2020

“These poems acknowledge a broken world. Franklin illuminates grief and loss, identity and memory while navigating the space between the childhoods we’ve helped create for our children and the shifting landscapes of our parents’ aging. She is a brilliant writer, one I seek out-time and again-for insight and solace.” – Julianna Baggott, Instructions: Abject & Fuming

The Lioness of Boston

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New historical fiction book aims to present a more full picture of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Listen to NPR/Radio Boston for more details

• Boston Globe Bestseller/Indie Bookstore Bestseller
• “Must-Read Book of Spring 2023,” Town & Country

THE LIONESS OF BOSTON is a deeply evocative novel of the life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, a daring visionary who created an inimitable legacy in American art and transformed the city of Boston itself.

By the time Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Italian palazzo-style home as a museum in 1903 to showcase her collection of old masters, antiques, and objects d’art, she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston’s polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself. Puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy bluebloods, she strived to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper-society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast off expectations.

Freed by travel, Isabella explores the world of art, ideas, and letters, meeting and befriending such kindred spirits as Henry James and Oscar Wilde. From London and Paris to Egypt and Asia, she develops a keen eye for paintings and objects, and meets feminists ready to transform nineteenth century thinking in the twentieth century. Isabella becomes an eccentric trailblazer, painted by John Singer Sargent in a portrait of daring décolletage, and fond of such stunts as walking a pair of lions in the Boston Public Garden.

The Lioness of Boston is a portrait of what society expected a woman’s life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and determined to live on her own terms.

Reviews

“Brings Isabella Stewart Gardner fully, intimately alive—irrepressible and avid for life. In this richly compelling novel, Emily Franklin beautifully conjures this extraordinary woman and her world.” —Claire Messud, author of The Emperor’s Children

“Gorgeous writing enhances this absorbing portrait of a fascinating woman ahead of her time.”
—Toronto Star

“…a rich, nuanced portrait of a woman hungry to find beauty, knowledge, and her own place in the world.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Extraordinary….Vividly written in beautiful prose.”
—Provincetown Magazine

“Emily Franklin takes us into the very heart and soul of Isabella Stewart Gardner in her engaging historical fiction novel….In Franklin’s writing, Gardner is headstrong, sensitive, and in a sense — given the blue-blooded circles in which she tried to live — cursed with a curious mind and a desperate desire to make a mark on the world….Franklin builds the story of how this stunning art institution came to be by jumping off Gardner’s real-life tragedies, remarkable relationships with people of note, and extensive foreign travels, which provide solace to her troubled soul.”
—Martha’s Vineyard Times

“We never miss a chance to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum when we’re in Boston, so it should come as no surprise that we can’t wait to dive into Emily Franklin’s new novel, based on the life and times of the aristocratic rebel. The Lioness of Boston looks at how the city’s reigning society tried to ice Gardner out, but failed when she found that following her own vision—and aligning herself with likeminded rulebreakers—was more important than meeting the standards of brittle Brahmins. And whose name do we all remember now?”
—Town & Country, “Must-Reads Books of Spring 2023”

“Franklin’s lyrical, erudite style befits Belle and grabs readers’ attention.”
—Starred Review: Library Journal

“A vivid narrative…brims with pitch-perfect period details…cannily captures Isabella Stewart Gardner’s ambition, independence, and quirks. Fans of strong female protagonists and Gilded Age historicals will enjoy this.”
—Publishers Weekly

“An engaging portrait of a bold yet vulnerable woman….A perennial tale of a woman fighting for her place in a man’s world.”
—Kirkus

“The Lioness of Boston is a captivating story of a significant woman in Boston’s history who left that city a cultural legacy to last the ages. This beautiful novel will appeal to those who love masterful historical fiction, literary fiction, and stories of triumphant women who leave an indelible mark.”
—New York Journal of Books

Advance Praise for The Lioness of Boston

“Franklin’s gorgeous, extraordinarily intimate and timely novel about Isabella Stewart Gardner showcases the life of a daring, brilliant woman who refused to be confined by the mores of her day, even as she searched for her truest self. So richly alive, I was running to Google to reacquaint myself with every mentioned painting, so moving, I wept over the tragedies and delighted in her bold success. How could any reader not be inspired by the cast of creatives including Oscar Wilde, Henry James, John Singer Sargent, and more? This book is just shatteringly good, with writing so artful, Isabella herself would surely approve.”
—Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You

“This beautiful, sensitively written novel explores the fascinating life of Isabella Stewart Gardner—feminist before feminism, celebrity before celebrity. Captivating and evocative, The Lioness of Bostontransported me to America’s Golden Age. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Jessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the Castle

“The Lioness of Boston shows the deft touch of Edith Wharton and the delightful pomp of The Gilded Age—it’s a book both elegant and entertaining, one to savor line by line even as it carries us forward on the spirit and audacity of the narrator. Emily Franklin has rendered Isabella Stewart Gardner a classic literary heroine, one who emerges from heartbreak and defiance to shape her own life and the culture of an entire city.”
—Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief

“A novel of blazing insight, The Lioness of Boston captures the daring life and mind of the unforgettable woman who transformed American art and the city of Boston itself. This masterfully written work of historical fiction will remind some of Lily King’s Euphoria and others of Melanie Benjamin’s The Swans of Fifth Avenue. Becoming Isabella is the best kind of novel—at once a deft page-turner and a thrilling love story about a woman’s passion for an independent life—that will sear your mind, break your heart, and leave you forever changed.”
—Dawn Tripp, author of Georgia: A Novel

“The Lioness of Boston is a treasure trove of art, sensuality, Boston history, and more. Emily Franklin has captured Isabella Stewart Gardner’s blazing life and the light it sheds on the lives of women then and now.”
—Rachel Kadish, author of The Weight of Ink