Elaine Kraf's The Princess of 72nd Street is a novel that readers will find hard to believe was originally published in 1979. With impeccable vision and a vulnerability seldom seen in representations of mental illness in fiction, Kraf depicts mania so vividly that readers will feel dismayed the novel didn't find widespread fame five decades ago.
The protagonist's mother gave her a name, but she prefers to be called "Princess Esmerelda of West 72nd Street." She experiences euphoric periods of "radiance," which psychiatrists prefer to call "manic-depression." She can't grasp why so many people seem hell-bent on stifling her radiance; they "usually treat this lovely feeling with drugs." However, she's nevertheless determined to outsmart them and remain true to her state of being: "The floor is a beach and I am rolling on the sand and splashing in the water with a white heron. It turns gray and blue. No one can stop this. No one will take away my radiance even when it floods over me completely."
As Esmerelda bounces from one catastrophic relationship to another, the constants in her life are the conviction of her royal status and her devotion to her lovely subjects. It's by turns achingly sad to bear witness to Esmerelda's self-destructive behaviors and yet enthralling to see her thrive in her royalty. The novel is narrated in charmingly disjointed stream of consciousness that compels readers to surrender to the force of nature that is Esmerelda and gape in awe at Kraf's radical storytelling. Woefully unappreciated as a trailblazing feminist novel, this is a cult classic fully deserving a reprint and a second chance at mainstream regard. --Jess M., bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company.