In this episode of Elena Meets the Author, I’m joined by the talented Samantha Greene Woodruff to talk about her gripping historical novel The Trade-Off.
Set against the backdrop of the 1929 Wall Street crash, the novel follows Bea Abramovitz, a mathematically gifted and young jewish woman who foresees the financial collapse but struggles to be taken seriously in a world dominated by men. We explore the inspiration behind the book, the harsh realities of Wall Street in the 1920s, and what it takes to write complex, compelling female characters in historical fiction.
Samantha also shares fascinating insights into her research process, how she balances historical accuracy with narrative tension, and the surprising parallels between the world of the 1920s and the financial and political climate we see today. It’s a thoughtful, timely conversation about power, intuition, and whose voices get heard, then and now.
Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:15 Introducing Samantha Greene Woodruff
00:35 The story behind The Trade-Off
01:49 Samantha’s writing journey and inspirations
04:17 Researching Wall Street in the 1920s
07:04 Character development and key themes
08:48 Women in finance during the 1920s
22:59 Building suspense in historical fiction
24:27 Writing tension when readers know the outcome
25:04 Financial research and real-world data
27:33 The 1929 market crash
30:15 Choosing the right book title
32:30 The Lobotomist’s Wife and earlier work
34:33 Core themes and takeaways
35:29 The road to publication
39:20 New projects and what’s next
41:54 Final thoughts and surprising discoveries
