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Judith Jones may not have been a household name, but without her, some of the world's most famous books may never have made it to many library and kitchen shelves.

The editor died Wednesday at her home in Vermont, according to a statement from the publisher Knopf.

 the cause was complications from Alzheimer's disease.


Jones worked at Knopf for more than five decades. She retired in 2011 as senior editor and vice president.

It was 1950 when Jones at age 27 was working in Paris as an editorial assistant at Doubleday Publishing. She stumbled upon a book in the discard pile as she was in the middle of writing rejection letters. This one, however, she could not put down. She was struck by the face on the cover. It was Anne Frank.

"I read all afternoon with the tears coming down my face," Jones told NPR's Jacki Lyden in a 1998 interview. "When my boss got back, it was evening by then. He said, 'What are you doing still here?' And I said, 'We have to have this book!' And he said, 'What? That book by that kid?'"

. It had already been released in German and Dutch, but Jones convinced her bosses to publish it in the United States, vastly expanding its readership.
It went on to 

 more than 30 million copies worldwide in more than 60 languages.


That canny move convinced Knopf to hire Jones in 1957. Once again she persuaded a publishing house to take a risk on another rejected work; this one a manuscript co-authored by Julia Child.

in 1961 and helped revolutionize the way Americans cook.
As Jones wrote in her 

Throughout her career, Jones championed various cookbook authors who went on to become icons: James Beard, Marcella Hazan and Lida Bastianich, said Knopf in its statement.

A scene from the film Julie & Julia, when Judith Jones discovers Julia Child's seminal work.

She also worked with such luminary authors as John Updike and Anne Tyler.


In addition to editing, she wrote several books about cooking and baking, some alongside her husband, Evan Jones, 

.
She leaves behind four children and stepchildren, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, says 

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Judith Jones was behind such seminal works as the English-language 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking.' Jones died Wednesday from Alzheimer's complications, according to family.

Legendary editor Judith Jones dies at 93

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