Bookers

Florence Adler Swims Forever is a 2020 historical fiction novel by Rachel Beanland based on the story of the death of her great-great-aunt, Florence Lowenthal. In the novel, Florence Adler drowns while training to swim the English Channel, but her family decides to keep her death a secret from her sister, Fannie, who is on bed rest, pregnant with a child who may not survive. Over the course of the summer, the Adlers confront their private grief as they navigate the consequences of the Great Depression and Hitler’s rising power in Europe. The novel also explores themes of The Complexity of Gender Expectations and The Costs and Benefits of Secrecy. The book received positive reception when it was published and received the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction.