Just finished this absolute gem of a novel, set during Hollywood’s “Golden Age.” The author has done an incredible job researching the way that movies were made in the 1930’s and 1940’s, from the studio system, which all but ensured that actors were almost “owned” by the motion picture studios, to the powerful sway gossip columnists had over the careers of every movie star at that time.
Edie O’Dare’s movie contract with the studio expires soon and she understands that her acting career is all but over. However, she has a knack for Hollywood gossip and has the confidence of several well-placed sources. Edie’s once-cordial relationship with the current queen of gossip columnists becomes strained as Edie finds success with her own column, called “Do Tell.” Their rivalry reminded me of the real-life arch rivalry of Hollywood gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons.
Edie becomes enmeshed in the rape trial of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The story borrows from the real-life rape trial of Errol Flynn, who was accused of the rape of two underage girls at the height of his career. Edie’s treatment of the trial, and of the young girl at the center of the scandal, cause her to lose her many friendships and contacts, and Edie must painfully examine her own role in the trial.
I flew through this book and became very connected to the main characters. There is a useful character guide which was very helpful in keeping them all straight. Their stories were sometimes heartbreaking, and the ending was especially poignant. I hope this book gets wide acclaim because Lindsay Lynch has written a terrific and engaging story.
(𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)
About the Book:
As character actress Edie O’Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She’s long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood’s reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry’s biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.
Now on a new side of the entertainment business, Edie’s second act career grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie quickly learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice with the potential to ruin more than one life.
Debut novelist Lindsay Lynch brings the golden age of Hollywood to glittering life, from star-studded opening nights to backlot brawls, on-location Westerns to the Hollywood Canteen. Through Edie’s wry observations, Lynch maps the intricate networks of power that manufacture the magic of the movies, and interrogates who actually gets to tell women’s stories.