By the end of the 1980s I, like
many of you, just couldn’t get enough of trashy books. Novels like HOLLYWOOD
WIVES, THE LONELY LADY, SINS, SCRUPLES, RAGE OF ANGELS ruled my days. The glitterier
they were the happier I was with them. Yes, I was that addicted. Of course I was in the minority in my group of well-read
friends but I didn’t care. No, that’s not true. I did care but, try as I might,
I just couldn’t control my trashy urges. I wanted to love literary greats but I
just couldn’t do it. Like my own sexuality I rather enjoyed marching to the
beat of my own drum. So color me happily surprised when all of a sudden LOVELY ME: THE LIFE OF JACQUELINE SUSANN (1987, Morrow) by one Barbara Seaman came my way. Not only was I ecstatic about it but
I truly believed that the gods of paperback sleaze had literally confirmed my
decision to always stay unique.
LOVELY ME: THE LIFE OF
JACQUELINE SUSANN is as dishy as anything Susann had ever written: jealousy,
revenge, obsession, incurable diseases… Seaman goes through with a fine-tooth comb the
tumultuous life of this controversial author who, despite no love from the critics,
still ended up breaking sales records three times in a row. From her humble
beginnings as an inspiring actress to her successful years after the release of
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, Susann’s marginal frame of mind plus the heavy publicity junket
for DOLLS and her subsequent work—all generated by her then-hubby manager
publicist Irving Mansfield—made her a household name. Of course, her rise to
fame came with many blows, one of which most definitely fatal as she ended up
losing her battle with cancer in 1974. But leaving her marks she did, becoming
the biggest best-selling author of her generation.
Like her classic novel, I own
two copies of LOVELY ME: THE LIFE OF
JACQUELINE SUSANN, one to get busy with; the other in mint condition on my
busy bookshelf. I can tell you that I re-read it every few years, if not in its
entirety then at least for the juiciest parts. My favorite one of course is her
rise to fame. In between her locking horns with publishers, movie directors, the
press, and other celebrities (like Truman Capote who infamously called her a ‘truck
driver in drag’ on TV) she manages to be quite endearing toward her sometimes rocky
relationships with her husband and her institutionalized autistic child (her
biggest heartbreak). A lot of readers have noticed the use of too many gay
slurs in her novels and I tend to agree, but I always felt that it was mostly
used for shock values more than anything else. Besides, Susann has been known to
take a dip in the lady pond herself. According to the bio, that is.
If you’re into trashy greats
and have read or are planning to read all of Susann’s work then you must pick
up LOVELY ME: THE LIFE OF JACQUELINE
SUSANN. You’ll be in nostalgic bliss just following the rise and fall of a
go-getter who not only enthralled readers with her juicy tales of the elite but
who also managed to finally and rightfully become what she always wanted to be:
a star. Barbara Seaman sure loves her subject and we couldn’t thank her enough
for that.
Until next post—Martin
 |
| 1996 softcover |
2 comments:
I loved this book. I love Susann's novels. Did you ever go down the PEYTON PLACE road? The original novel is a great read--so much better than the movie. The sequel novel is NOTHING like the film. THE TIGHT WHITE COLLAR and NO ADAM IN EDEN are also great. Grace Metalious, the author, was no Park Avenue princess. But she could get just as seamy and trashy as the best of them. There is also a bio like the one on Jackie S entitled THE GIRL FROM PEYTON PLACE, if you are so inclined.
I think I saw it listed somewhere on your Twitter thing, but I am curious as to what you thought of Jacqueline Susann's YARGO...and did you read the years-later sequel SHADOW OF THE DOLLS? What did you think of that? DOLLS is my fave of JS'.
CHEERS!
Hey there--
Thanks for visiting. Yes, I did go down the PEYTON PLACE road and I loved it, hence: https://sleaze-factor.blogspot.com/2016/11/peyton-place-by-grace-metalious.html. It's sequel, I didn't dig it half as much, hence: https://sleaze-factor.blogspot.com/2019/06/return-to-peyton-place-by-grace.html.
As for her other two novels and her bio, I own them, but I have yet to read them but I surely will.
Loved YARGO (https://sleaze-factor.blogspot.com/2019/01/yargo-by-jacqueline-susann.html) and SHADOW OF THE DOLLS (https://sleaze-factor.blogspot.com/2016/01/jacqueline-susanns-shadow-of-dolls-by.html).
What can I say, I just LOVE those trashy novels. Come back any time now.
Martin
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