Cathleen Schine

Cathleen Schine (born 1953) is an acclaimed American novelist, essayist, and cultural critic widely celebrated for her sharp social comedies, witty examinations of modern relationships, and playful literary re-imagining. Born in Westport, Connecticut, and educated at Sarah Lawrence College, Barnard College, and the University of Chicago, she initially worked as a freelance journalist before turning her hand to long-form fiction. Dubbed by critics as "a modern-day Jewish Jane Austen," Schine achieved major literary prominence with her 1995 international bestseller The Love Letter (adapted into a 1999 Hollywood film starring Kate Capshaw) and her critically praised Jane Austen pastiche, The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Her extensive bibliography deftly balances comedy and deep emotional resonance, featuring other popular works like Alice in Bed, Rameau’s Niece, The Grammarians, and her pandemic-era historical novel, Künstlers in Paradise (2023). Beyond her fiction, she is an influential voice in the contemporary media landscape, contributing prolific literary reviews, social columns, and cultural essays to prestigious platforms including The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review.