By Hillel Italie
In John Irving’s next book, the author is returning to St. Cloud’s, Maine, and to the orphanage made famous in his acclaimed “The Cider House Rules.”
Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that Irving’s “Queen Esther” will be published Nov. 4. His novel will bring back Dr. Wilbur Larch from “The Cider House Rules,” but otherwise features a new set of characters. According to Simon & Schuster, “Queen Esther” will span much of the 20th century as it follows the life of Esther Nacht, a Viennese Jew born in 1905, abandoned at age 4 and taken in as a teen by a New England family.
Irving ends the story in Jerusalem, in 1981.
“The construction of this novel long predates the events of Oct. 7, and everything that’s happened in Israel since those terrorist attacks and the hostage-taking,” Irving said in a statement. “With hindsight, it’s easy to say
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