Author: Leslie Johansen Nack
Started: May 3, 2022
Finished: May 8, 2022
Thank you to Leslie Johansen Nack, She Writes Press and Netgalley for the chance to read this advanced copy in return for an honest review. This book was released on May 3, 2022.
Marion Davies was eighteen when she first met William Randolph Hearst Jr and her life was never the same. After living a hard life where her mother groomed her to find someone who could take care of her financially, Marion finds just that but she also finds her ultimate support and her best friend. Despite being married WR, as he prefers to be called fully promotes and backs Marion as an actress and supports everything she does. As they deal with all life throws at them, she realizes that she is deeply in love with him and could not do this life without him.
In her own right, Marion Davies is a star. She was a star of over 40 dozen movies, both silent and talkies. She was also a movie producer, a career not many women held at the time. She became good friends with Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, and other stars of the era. As Hearst's health declined, Marion retired from the Hollywood lights in order to care for her long-time love. Davies spent her last years performing many acts of charity and she was known as a caring and compassionate person.
I had only heard of Marion Davies in passing before reading this book. I loved learning about her humble beginnings, her love affair with William Randolph Hearts Jr, and the ways in which she broke barriers. This was a well-done book that detailed the life Marion led in front of and behind the screen.