Thomas A Levitt was not quite five years old in September of 1951–the height of the McCarthy red scare–when his parents appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to answer questions about their political affiliations.
Sophie Hearn grows up hearing about the House Un-American Activities Committee’s 1951 campaign to root out Communists in the film industry. Her father’s impassioned testimony in defense of the First Amendment—and his refusal to answer questions about his political associations—leave him blacklisted for years, destroying his promising screenwriting career and putting his family on the edge of financial ruin. Unsurprisingly, his daughter becomes politically aware at an early age.
The shadow of the blacklist follows Sophie to college and then into adulthood, affecting her politics, her career ambitions and her relationships. But it’s not until she reunites with Steve Elwood, a long-lost childhood friend, that she’s forced to face the full impact of her family’s past.
A powerful story about coming of age in California in the mid-twentieth century, The Wire Recorder explores how political paranoia, when allowed to spiral out of control, can leave a toxic residue that lasts for generations.
About the author, Thomas A Levitt:
Thomas A Levitt was not quite five years old in September of 1951–the height of the McCarthy red scare–when his parents, Alfred and Helen Levitt, both appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to answer questions about their political affiliations. As a result of their courageous stand, Tom grew up in the shadow of the infamous Hollywood blacklist and has many stories to tell about that experience.
Tom caught the writing bug early on from his parents, who encouraged his writing but were tough mentors who held his work to rigorous standards. Aware of the odds against making a living writing, Tom initially took up teaching as a “day job,” but it turned into a rewarding 33-year career as he taught elementary, middle, junior high and high school in some of Los Angeles’ toughest neighborhoods.
After retiring in 2008, he began working seriously on the novel he’d conceived decades earlier based loosely on his and his parents’ experiences before, during and after the blacklist, and into which he was now able to incorporate his teaching experiences as well. In the summer of 2017, at age 70, Tom finally completed his historical romance–The Wire Recorder–which stands as his first piece of published work.
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