SCANDALOUS WOMEN - Gill Paul
A Novel of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-06-324515-0
August 2024
Fiction

United States and England - 1965 to 1974

This is the story of two authors breaking gender barriers. It is a fictional account but based on research and, while some characters are not real, there are many who are. 

Nancy White has always wanted to be an editor. After college, she moved to New York City and began to work for a publisher, hoping to work her way up the ladder. But she discovers almost immediately that sexism and sexual harassment are rampant in the corporate world of the sixties. It is while she struggles to find footing in the business that she meets Jacqueline Susann who is working hard to publish her first novel after her successful book about her poodle, Josephine. The men are dead set against publishing what they view as a romance novel, but Nancy convinces them that the book is a sure thing. VALLEY OF THE DOLLS hits the bookstores and is an immediate hit.

Jacqueline Susann begins her promotional tours for the book, determined that it will be a bestseller. But her life isn't all that the public thinks it is. She and her husband, Irving, have a son who lives in a special care facility in Texas, and always will. After having breast cancer, Jacqueline asks God to grant her ten more years and a best seller, and she isn't going to take no for an answer. She is, however, shocked by the initial reviews of her new book, and the animosity of some women over the sex scenes. Jacqueline does not let any of that detract from the fact that the book is selling like crazy.

Jackie Collins loves to write but hasn't had much chance to finish anything as she cares for her baby, and a husband who is anything but reliable. But after her divorce, she meets and marries Oscar Lerman, an American investor, and he is a man who is supportive, and who helps her achieve her dreams. Her first book goes to publication in England and is met with some of the same shock as Jacqueline's book did in the States. Yet, the book soars in sales, and the publisher urges her to produce another quickly. THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN will be followed by THE STUD. 

It is Nancy's luck that she comes across a news report about "The British Jacqueline Susann?" Doing more research, Nancy is convinced that the publisher she works for should publish Jackie Collins’ book in the States. When they agree, Jackie comes to New York to meet the staff, she meets Nancy, and thanks her for recommending her book. The subsequent meeting of Jackie and Jacqueline happens, and a friendship begins.

While SCANDALOUS WOMEN is fiction, the realistic approach to both authors is compelling. The author has done a lot of research on both women, and readers will feel that they know Jackie and Jacqueline intimately by the novel's conclusion. In today's world, neither of these authors would be considered truly scandalous, but in the sixties and seventies times were different, and both women stood by their beliefs. This book tells the story of the transitional times. I highly recommend SCANDALOUS WOMEN. 

Jani Brooks