A Conversation with with Lynda Cohen Loigman
Celebrating The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
Ron Block sat down with Lynda Cohen Loigman recently to chat about her latest book, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern. Lynda’s engaging new historical novel (with a dash of second chance romance and a bit of magical realism) has gotten raves from some of our favorite authors including Shelby Van Pelt, Steven Rowley, Sarah Penner, Annabel Monaghan, and F&F’s own Patti Callahan Henry. We’re delighted Lynda could join us here to discuss this book which St. Martin’s Press published on October 8, 2024.
Lynda, what a stellar achievement your new book is! Can you tell us what the book is about and then, in true Friends & Fiction fashion, what the book is REALLY about?
Thank you so much for your kind words! When the story opens, Augusta Stern—an unmarried woman and a lifelong pharmacist—is pressured into retirement one month before her eightieth birthday. Augusta has been lying about her age, but when her secret is discovered, she reluctantly agrees to give up her job and move to an active senior community in southern Florida. On her first day there, she is horrified to find that Irving Rivkin, the former delivery boy at her father’s pharmacy in Brooklyn and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier, is a fellow resident. This is a dual timeline novel, so readers move between 1980’s Boca Raton and 1920’s Brooklyn, where they meet young Augusta and young Irving and watch the two of them fall in love and (eventually) fall apart.
On the surface, the book combines historical fiction with a second chance romance and a bit of magical realism. Digging deeper, however, the book is REALLY about female ambition and the importance of being seen. When Augusta is young, Irving is the only person in her life who truly sees her intelligence and drive. He knows that the most wonderful thing about her is her enormous, beautiful brain. And Esther, a mystical old-world healer and Augusta’s great aunt, is effective at making people well because she truly sees their symptoms and does not shy away from their pain.
As people age, I think we have a tendency to stop fully seeing them. We think older people don’t long for love or for romantic relationships. We stop seeing them as the heroines or the heroes of their own lives. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a reminder that age doesn’t change who we are.
Tell us where the idea initially came from and how it grew from that seed to the finished book?
The inspiration for this story came from two separate sources. The first source was my husband’s great grandmother, Goldie, who graduated from Fordham’s College of Pharmacy in 1921. The real Goldie ran her Bronx store for decades and when she gave that up, she worked decades more as a hospital pharmacist in Manhattan. Because she didn’t want to retire, she changed the date on her pharmacy license so no one would know her real age. Her given name, I learned only recently, was not Goldie, but Augusta.
The idea of a book about Goldie was in the back of my mind for years. But to be honest, it wasn’t Goldie herself, but the 1920’s pharmacy setting that truly captivated my imagination. The prescription room—with its the shelves full of neatly labeled bottles, pills, powders, and tinctures—seemed like a perfect place to explore a dash of magical realism in my writing.
While my husband’s family provided inspiration for this setting, it was my own father who helped me find the voices of my characters. After moving my father to an assisted living community in Florida, I would sit with him in the lobby outside the dining room where his fellow residents gathered to gossip and tell stories. It was there that I realized who Augusta and Irving would be, the history they would share, and the mistakes they would make. I used to think about how awkward it might be if one of my father’s former girlfriends moved into his assisted living community. Once that idea got into my head, the plot for the novel began to fall into place.
Each character is so vividly written and portrayed in the story. How do you create and develop them? We know that Augusta was inspired by a real person. Was Esther based on someone you knew and loved?
Oh boy, this is difficult to describe! Before I sit down to write a story, I spend months thinking about my characters. Creating them is baked into my research time and as I search for inspiration about the world I am building, I search for details about who my characters will be. I think about them as individuals, but I also think it’s important to consider the way they relate to the other characters around them.
By far, the most difficult part of beginning a new novel is creating the voices of the characters. This is something I can’t do until I begin to write. So, I might think I know everything about a character, but until I actually write their first scenes, I find I don’t really know them at all. I write and delete. Write and delete. And as I write, I read my words out loud because I can’t move forward until it all sounds correct. This goes on for the first fifty pages of a book until I get the rhythm and the voices down.
The character of Esther isn’t based on any one individual. However, she definitely has bits of my grandmother mixed into her personality. My grandmother Tillie was an incredibly strong woman who survived a terrible marriage. She was devoted to her daughters and her eight grandchildren, but she wasn’t a healer or even that good of a cook! Still, there is some of her DNA baked into Esther.
The details of turn-of-the-century pharmacology were fascinating. Was that difficult research?
The research for this novel took me in so many interesting directions. I began by reading memoirs and non-fiction books about the lives and careers of American pharmacists in the early part of the twentieth century. It was through these accounts that I came to understand the early pharmacist’s role as advisor, therapist, and confessor. The patient anecdotes in these books helped me portray Solomon Stern’s role accurately. I also interviewed the father of my own local pharmacist, who was born in 1937 and told me about his early days as a stock boy and delivery boy at a drugstore in Brooklyn. I read many early editions of American Druggist magazine, where I found advertisements for all of the products Stern’s Pharmacy might have carried on its shelves, as well as all of the equipment Solomon Stern might have used. Together, these sources helped me bring the world of Stern’s Pharmacy to life.
Was the inclusion of the apothecary and healing powders and potions a part of the story originally or did it develop as you wrote? What research did you pursue to get the prose just right?
In my last book, The Matchmaker’s Gift, I fulfilled a long-held wish to add magical realism to my writing. I knew that a pharmacy—with its powders and tinctures—would be a wonderful setting to explore this again. At first, I was focused on physical illnesses and the ways in which Augusta’s great aunt Esther might use unusual remedies to make people well. (Esther’s chicken soup is legendary in the neighborhood—not only because it is so delicious but because of its special healing powers). The idea for a love potion came later on. In my research on 1920’s pharmacies, I came across a lesser-known short story by O. Henry called The Love Philtre of Ikey Schoenstein—a humorous tale about a jealous pharmacist who pretends to make a love potion for a customer. Watching Ikey’s plan unravel so spectacularly made me realize how compelling it would be for readers if Augusta’s plan fell apart as well.
In order to write about Esther’s healing gifts and her work in a meaningful way, I did a great deal of research on homeopathic cures (including those for infertility and menopause) and herbalism. I also explored several sources on Jewish mysticism and the customs and folklore regarding illness, fertility, pregnancy, and love. The idea for Esther’s mortar to have words inside it came from an article I read about ancient incantation bowls. These bowls were found buried beneath homes in what is now Iraq and Iran. They were produced from the sixth to the eighth centuries, and were usually inscribed with prayers in Aramaic, with words written inside the bowls in a spiral. They were meant to protect the residents from evil spirits. After I learned about them, I wanted to create Esther’s mortar as a special sort of talisman with words inside it.
Speaking of writing, we’d love to know your approach to crafting the story. Are you an outliner or does the story move along as you write? Were there surprises along the way for you, as there are for the reader?
Before I begin writing, I always know the beginning and the end of my story, and I know some specific dramatic scenes I want to include along the way. I don’t really begin outlining until I have my first fifty pages written. That’s when I can see the shape of the story and when I have a better idea of the pacing.
There are always surprises for me as I write. For instance, I did not expect Mitzi Diamond to become as important to the story as she did. At first, I was focused on her husband, Zip, but Mitzi kept emerging as the more interesting villain. And Nathaniel was a bit of a surprise as well. He was always going to be in the book, but his original role was not as important.
A wonderful addition to your storytelling is the way you bring such humor to the characters. Talk about your approach to inserting the often-hilarious scenes.
When I moved my dad into assisted living, humor was one of the ways we coped with a very painful time. Because of that, I knew that the more modern timeline of this story would have to include more humor than I’ve ever tried to write before. Irving, in particular, had to be funny. The key to writing him was to use a combination of humor and vulnerability. Irving cracks a lot of jokes in this story because humor is his way of coping with a lifetime of disappointments and loss. I wanted readers to laugh out loud, but also to cry when they read his scenes.
I think it was Mark Twain who said, “humor is tragedy plus time.” When I first began piecing together this story, I knew I wanted Augusta to make Esther’s elixir twice—first, when she is young and a second time sixty-two years later. The first time I wanted the result to be tragic, but the second time, I wanted it to be funny. So, the most important scene, and the most challenging to write, was Augusta’s birthday party at the French restaurant. The dialogue had to be sharp and snappy, and the choreography had to be precise. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Remind me never to try to be funny again!
As in your other stories, you write such compelling and strong female characters. Why do you think it’s important to showcase this in fiction? What women have inspired you?
All of my books are inspired by my family, so the women in this story have bits and pieces of many of my relatives in them. But for this book, it was important to me to create female characters who don’t lead typical lives or make typical choices for the time period.
Augusta and Esther are both very focused on their careers. Neither of them ever marries. Neither of them has any children. Despite this, I wanted to show that both women still lead vital and meaningful lives.
When I was first married, I attended a business dinner with my husband and a couple who were maybe 5 or 6 years older. I made some comment that began “when you have children. . .” and the woman sitting next to me interrupted me and said, “What makes you assume I want to have children?” She went on to tell me she did not want kids. At the time, I was 26 years old and, obviously, very naïve. I remember being so embarrassed and telling myself that I had to be more open-minded. It was a lesson I never forgot—not just about not making assumptions, but about understanding the complexities of life and people’s choices. It was a moment when I understood that the world was a lot bigger than I thought it was, and that not all women wanted the same things.
I am married and I have two amazing children. But that path isn’t right for everyone. I wanted this book to be a story for all women, regardless of the path they have taken in life.
A question readers will ponder as they read the story surrounds second chances at love. What are your thoughts?
I can understand why some might see tragedy in the fact that Augusta and Irving spend six decades apart. Augusta herself laments the fact that if only circumstances had been different, she and Irving could have had more time together. It is Irving who teaches her how to let go—how to forgive not only him but herself for the mistakes and miscommunications of her past. For me, this lesson is essential, not only for fictional characters but for all of us. Augusta’s ultimate acceptance, and the way she learns to move forward with her life, is what makes the story a joyful one. In the end, she achieves what she never thought possible—both professional fulfillment and love with a man who truly sees her for who she is. These goals might never have been achieved if the two of them married when they were young. I like to believe that they find each other at exactly the right time. For me, their story is a reminder that second chances are always possible.
Finally, can you share what your next project is? We know readers will be anxious to read more from you after the reception of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern.
My next book is a very “bookish” one, about a young woman who has a recurring dream of a strangely embellished, mysterious book. She believes this book holds the key to her identity and to what happened to her family and begins to search for it. I can’t really say much more than that now, but I will share more details as soon as I can!
Bonus: Throughout the book we are treated to such mouth-watering descriptions of foods, especially the Chicken Soup made by Esther. Does food have special meaning for you?
I write about food in all my stories because it’s always been so important to my family life. (By the way, if you are a pickle lover, The Matchmaker’s Gift is definitely for you!)
Before I began writing this story, the phrase “Jewish penicillin” popped into my head, which is what some people call chicken soup. In almost every culture it seems that chicken soup is known for its curative or restorative qualities. I couldn’t use the phrase in the story because penicillin wasn’t invented until 1928. But the idea stuck, and I liked the way it fit with a pharmacy story. I knew then that Esther would be a wonderful cook and that her chicken soup would be an important vehicle for her healing.
About the Author
Lynda Cohen Loigman is the author of The Matchmaker's Gift, The Wartime Sisters, and The Two-Family House. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She grew up in Longmeadow, MA, and now lives in New York.
About the Book
“Full of sweetness and charm.” —People
“The happiest I have felt in years inside the world of a book.” —Natalie Jenner, #1 nationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society
“A sparkling ode to second chances.”—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community in southern Florida—she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy—and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.
As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice—unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.
As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.
Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her, or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?
Stay in Touch!
Subscribe to our PODCAST.
Join our FACEBOOK group.
Follow us on INSTAGRAM.
Subscribe to our YOUTUBE channel.
Find details about everything F&F on our WEBSITE.
Shop our guests’ & hosts’ books in our shop on BOOKSHOP.
Join the F&F Official BOOK CLUB with Brenda & Lisa.
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
Such an amazing conversation with Lynda. Looking forward to getting into the Magic Potion of this incredible story-a real page turner!❤️😊
The book sounds absolutely charming. I love that it is so well researched, too. Even with a dose of magical realism, historical fiction needs to be authentic.