A Tale of Five Cities & Other Memoirs is a collection of eight previously unpublished autobiographical essays by novelist Joyce Elbert (1930--2009), spanning the years from the Great Depression through the mid-1980s, when she was no longer able to find a publisher for her "zany, sexy, campy creations" (her words).

Written with subtle humor and often brutal candor, Elbert's memoirs recount her childhood aspirations, her failed relationships with men (some famous), her struggles with alcoholism, and, of course, her life as a writer.