The first illustrated monograph on writer, journalist, and director Nora Ephron, the visionary behind When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail
Nora Ephron at the Movies offers an unfiltered look at Ephron as a champion of the rom-com and as a feminist Hollywood trailblazer. It explores her life and work by pairing detailed criticism with exclusive interviews with Ephron’s key collaborators, including Andie MacDowell and Jenn Kaytin Robinson, to add color and nuance to her life and legacy.
With her singular voice, Nora Ephron flourished as a dominant force in the entertainment industry, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of romance that were universally relatable.
The women in her stories paralleled reality—the veil was lifted, the glossy sheen removed. Her protagonists share an unwavering sense of humor about life’s mishaps, and they never take themselves too seriously—like Julie trying to master the art of cooking lobsters in Julie & Julia, Sally’s theatrical fake orgasm in Katz’s deli in When Harry Met Sally, or Rachel perfecting a key lime pie only to throw it in her cheating husband’s face in Heartburn.
Through her keenly self-aware humor and semi-autobiographical stories, Ephron left behind a groundbreaking legacy as a beloved journalist, essayist, screenwriter, author, producer, director, and feminist who delivered stories of resilience embedded in sharp wit and upper-crust landscapes. Through that lens, she became emblematic of rom-coms, shifting and redefining conversations around the complexities of relationships and the women who have them.
“Ilana Kaplan would make Nora Ephron proud with this smart, elegant, and entertaining journey through the filmmaker’s cinematic universe. I savored every page, and the Ephron fandom will too. I, for one, plan on displaying the book in my cozy living room for #MegRyanFall and the foreseeable future. It makes me want to buy school supplies. And toss on Ryan’s maroon sweater in When Harry Met Sally. To reference Frank Navasky: Thank you, Ilana, for writing a book I’ll cherish forever.”
—Erin Carlson, author of I’ll Have What She’s Having and No Crying in Baseball