Episode 8 - Valley of the Dolls

Welcome back to the Forgotten Library; as always, I’m Nikki Gee.

Today’s selection falls under Ridic Fic and was critically panned by most outlets, yet adored by the public enough to still sell copies today. Now, this is something one can apply to other items such as the Twilight and Fifty Shades of Gray series, but this book is special as it is a peek into a bygone era, and indeed, was starting to become so even as the novel was published. I’m talking about Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann.

Valley of the Dolls is a story about three women trying to make a name for themselves in the post-World War II Broadway and Hollywood worlds. They become victim to the “dolls,” a term Susann coined to refer to the prescription drugs the women succumb to taking, some of which the author herself would take at various low points in her life. The novel is considered to be a Roman à clef, which is a fancy French phrase for writing a thinly veiled story about other people but not using their real names to avoid libel.

Jacqueline Susann had a small stage and television career, including commercials, prior to penning novels. According to her biographer, Barbara Seaman, Susann’s late-night television run-in with Grace Metalious, author of Peyton Place, seems to have been the catalyst for her to start writing. In 1962, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she vowed that if she had time left on this planet, she would become famous.

Her first book was a science-fiction novel called The Stars Scream, but it wasn’t published until four years after her death with the new title of Yargo. The first book to see publication during her lifetime was called Every Night, Josephine!, and was about her pet poodle. Susann embarked on a book tour with her furry protagonist, sometimes appearing in matching outfits. This was during a time when book tours weren’t really a thing, so she helped to pioneer the idea.

Valley of the Dolls was her second book, published in 1966. Time magazine named it the Dirty Book of the Month, and likened it to a “highly effective sedative.” Gloria Steinem reviewed it unfavorably for the New York Herald Tribune. Despite this, the book took off quickly and rocketed to the top of the New York Times Bestsellers list and remained there for 28 consecutive weeks. It was the best-selling book of the year, and as of today, it has sold over 31 million copies.

The book would spawn a movie, which followed the same path as the book – critically panned, but wildly popular; Susann herself hated the movie. Valley of the Dolls, the movie, starred Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, and Sharon Tate in the three main roles.

Susann would publish two more books during her lifetime, Once is Not Enough and The Love Machine, which run along similar themes dealing with Hollywood and media. Each of these also hit the NYT Bestseller Lists, making Jackie the first author to have three consecutive number ones. After undergoing off-and-on treatments for years for cancer, she finally succumbed in August 1974. She famously stated that “Yeah, I think I’ll be remembered . . . as the voice of the 60s. . . . Andy Warhol, the Beatles and me!”

[break]

Valley of the Dolls begins with a . . . poem, the first line of which is “You’ve got to climb to the top of Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls.” Um, okay. It basically talks about climbing the summit and that’s all there is, and you’re exhausted and past your breaking point by the time you arrive. Anne Welles never meant to even start climbing, but she took her first step towards it the very minute she wanted something more out of her life, and then . . . she met Lyon Burke and it was too late.

The book is written in third person but each segment is from the point of view of one of our trio of protagonists: Anne, Neely, and Jennifer. We begin with Anne, in September 1945, and she’s in New York, looking for a secretarial job. Apparently, the employment agency thinks she’s crazy, because she is good-looking enough to model for the top agencies, but Anne would rather work in an office. The girl sends her to Henry Bellamy, the theatrical attorney, first. She natters about some big stars and Anne doesn’t quite react how she’s supposed to, leading the agency girl to ask where Anne came from – “It is in America, isn’t it?” Har de har har. Anne hails from Lawrenceville, Massachusetts, a small Podunk town an hour from Boston, where everyone gets married right out of high school, whereas the agency girl is fighting like all the rest in New York, it seems, to snare a wealthy husband.

We get some more backstory about the kind of world Anne grew up in – stodgy, old-manners, be “ladylike” and don’t laugh out loud or cry publicly, that sort of shit. She’s stuck out from other girls most of her life and she decides to leave Lawrenceville after graduation. The town just assumed that she would marry Willie Henderson, who she’s been dating since the age of 16. But Anne doesn’t love him.

And then, for as uptight and reserved as this family is, and how we’re to assume there are no confidences between mother and daughter, Anne tells her mother in a flashback about the other boys besides Willie that she’s kissed. That seems incongruous to me. Her mother smiles and says that means she’s a true lady because she doesn’t like kissing. Mother doesn’t stand in Anne’s way about New York; her departed father left her five thousand dollars to use how she wants. She thinks, however, that Anne will get fed up very quickly with the loud, dirty city, and come crawling back to Lawrenceville.

Anne can’t disagree, but it was also exciting; she rents a room and now, here we are in front of the Bellamy and Bellows office. Henry Bellamy interviews her, and she has no office experience, but she is pretty and has a degree in English. She doesn’t quite understand what he does, as she thinks he’s just an attorney, but as he puts it, “a theatrical attorney has to be a combination of agent, mother and God.” More banter and explanation of what her job would entail – late hours sometimes, interacting with clients – and he offers her the job and she takes it. Her salary is $75 a week, which, adjusting for inflation, would be a little over a thousand dollars today.

She likes her job, she makes some friends, including Neely, who we’ll meet in a bit, and an unassuming man named Allen Cooper.

And then, Lyon Burke returns to the office. Apparently, he had worked with Bellamy prior to the war, then left to enlist. He sent letters, so they knew he was alive, but he had never spoken about returning. Until now. Lyon just received his official release and is on his way to New York. The other secretaries inform Anne that he is sexy and has a British accent, which obviously ups the hot factor, amIright?

George, the guy who replaced Lyon while he was away, asks Anne to lunch and she turns him down; later, she wonders why and if it was loyalty to Allen, which leads to a flashback on how she met him. He had come to the office about an insurance deal and was coldly rebuffed by Henry. Later in the day, he calls the office and says that he struck out everywhere, but at least he met her, so he asks her if she’d like to make his day better by having dinner with him. And that’s how it continued. She thinks of him more like a friend, doesn’t change out of her work clothes most times when she has dates with him, and gets the least expensive item on the menu when they go to the little hole-in-the-wall restaurants. He’s a failure as a salesman, it seems, but he is pleasant and has a nice sense of humor, and makes her feel like she is interesting. He also makes no physical demands on her, hasn’t even tried to kiss her. But you don’t like kissing anyway, it seems, so . . . does that matter?

Later, George comes by to ask for a date in January (it’s October), because that’s when Hit the Sky, the new show starring Helen Lawson, will open. Helen Lawson is allegedly Ethel Merman (I’ll talk more about the real-life celebrities later in the show). Anne says how much she loved Helen in Madame Pompadour when she was a little girl. George warns her NEVER to say anything like that to Helen if she ever comes in, because a star’s real age is a fraught thing. Poor little naïve Anne doesn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of this.

Lyon is welcomed back to the fold, tall, black-haired, permanently tan, that accent. Anne is grateful for once for her outward reserve when she is introduced. But she is obviously smitten. And her first task is to find Lyon an apartment. Henry sends her on her task and it seems arduous already; all of the listings in the paper this morning are now taken.

She goes to her little one-room apartment at the end of the day, and even though it’s awful compared to back home, with a lumpy mattress that has cradled countless bodies, a beaten-up night table, a dresser with temperamental drawers, and a chair nearly shooting its springs, it’s all hers.

Enter Neely. She wants to know if Anne was able to talk to Henry about getting Neely and her two partners into Hit the Sky. The kid (and she is a kid, she’s seventeen) and her team call themselves The Gaucheros, and she’s been doing vaudeville since she was seven. Anyway, Anne tries to demur, because her relationship with Henry is strictly business, and Neely tells her that Henry and Helen were an ITEM back in the day, which Anne apparently did not know. This is not a good enough excuse for her, and Neely sighs at her that her “fancy manners” are going to get in the way someday. You have to just go for it, and if you don’t get it, so what? At least you tried!

Anne says she’ll try to talk to George, which Neely says is better than nothing. Neely just really wants to be in the show; they need a hit, and maybe then she can meet a nice guy and get married, and not have to travel all the time. Neely muses aloud that they’ve been called back three times for the show, and perhaps it’s because of her brother-in-law, Charlie, who’s dumb as hell but good-looking, and Helen Lawson tends to go for pretty much anything hot in pants. Anne is appalled at the fact that Charlie would let that old dame ride his rocket if the opportunity presented itself; why, he’s married and has a newborn baby at home! Ohh, Anne, you sweet summer child.

Neely is so cute, though; Anne is leaving for her date with Allen, and Neely asks if Anne has any more of those chocolate marshmallow cookies. When Anne tells her to take the whole box, she says, “Oh, marvelous! I’ve got a library copy of Gone with the Wind, a quart of milk and all these cookies. Wow! What an orgy!” I guess, given the scenes before it, you could read it sarcastically, but I prefer a sweet sparkle version, instead. Especially after what comes later.

Allen hears about Anne’s quest and takes her to a swank apartment; it’s huge, with doormen and elevator men, sumptuously furnished; only drawback is the view is right into the apartments across the way. This crazy, fabulous apartment is Allen’s, and he says that Lyon can move in right away, as he’s found a better one, and Lyon can take over the lease. Allen takes her to see his new apartment, which is even swankier, with Italian marble inlays, a terrace with view of the river, lovely thick carpeting. But, Allen is a failed kind of insurance salesman, right? How can he afford to take this over from Gino, the guy who owns it right now? Because he’s rich. Very, very rich. Anne doesn’t understand. And he loves her for it.

Allen Cooper, silent, unassuming, is actually a very rich man, from a wealthy family. And Gino is his father. But Allen wanted to see if Anne was conning him, pretending to believe his insurance salesman story. Because that’s happened to him before, you see, where women are just after his wealth. But Anne – oh, Anne [she likes me for me]

He even had a background check done on her and all of HER story checked out; she also doesn’t read the society columns, so she’s never heard of him before. And he’s in love with her and wants to marry her. He kisses her, and once again, the revulsion rears its head. Anne feels it must be her; she’s abnormal, “frigid.” But Allen loves her and he wants her to meet his father. Now, remember, he doesn’t ask her to marry him, he says, “you’re going to marry me.” She spends a very confusing ride home. And Neely wasn’t trying to pull one over on her, either; she’s never heard of Allen Cooper, other than as the nice boy who takes Anne out a few times a week. But George at the office knows; he and his father Gino are real estate tycoons who apparently own half of the city. Allen is the only son. George warns her away.

Henry is ecstatic about the apartment . . .until he learns that it’s Allen Cooper’s. He’s upset that Anne has been spending time with him. Apparently, the day he met Anne, he was in the office wanting Henry to pay off a chorus girl. Lyon stands up for her, and says she’s capable of making her own choices. Lyon invites her to go along with him to the apartment and he tells her in the cab that Henry is just looking out for her because he likes her and doesn’t want her to get hurt, but also to not judge people based on other’s opinions.

Lyon, very happy with his new digs, takes Anne to lunch on the company dime. Anne realizes during this conversation that you can’t be a real friend to someone and remain impersonal, so she decides privately that she will speak to Henry about Neely. She discovers Lyon’s desire to write a book and tells him that he should just go for it, and not quit before he even tries to make a start. He talks about his personal war experiences, and then he tells her to take the rest of the day off.

Lyon has already started to worm his way inside her brain, so as she wanders Fifth Avenue she thinks about him, then as it gets later, she remembers that Allen will be picking her up. She can’t marry him! She just got started here; she can’t give up this early! She decides that she’ll work up to it at dinner, gently but firmly. Yeah, no. Now that Allen is no longer being secretive about his background, they go right to 21, where everyone knows him. Each time she tries to segue the conversation into “I can’t marry you,” he steers it away, or interrupts her, or they change venue.

Allen takes her to meet his father, Gino, who holds court at El Morocco. They toast to the engagement. Anne tries, once again, to tell them that she’s not going to marry Allen. Allen says it’s just because she needs to “readjust her thinking.” After all, she only just learned he’s not a poor insurance salesman and he’s sure she couldn’t take him too seriously, worrying about whether he was going to get sacked. Gino says that if she lived through “six weeks of bad eats and accepted him as a punk, you’ll love him now.” They even have their reporter friend over to the table to get the scoop for next day’s announcements. Anne is appalled that all of these rich people seem to have lost their senses. How can she make them understand she is NOT marrying this guy?

Adele, Gino’s little showgirl piece, comes to sit. She says she has been trying to get Gino to marry her for months; he says after his wife died, he would never marry again. Then the conversation turns to fur coats and Gino offers to give Anne one as an engagement present. Anne is supremely uncomfortable with all of this talk and planning as if she isn’t even there.

When they drop her off at home, she tells Allen she can’t marry him and he says she’s going to. She just needs to give him a chance.

Neely left a note for her to visit when she got home. The Gaucheros got the part in Hit the Sky; Anne is very subdued when she gives her congratulations. Neely doesn’t get why Anne is so upset about Allen wanting to marry her, but is elated when she hears how loaded he really is. Anne wants her freedom; Neely questions her sanity, considering where they live and how cold and drab it is. Anne wants adventures; Neely says she lucked out and hit the jackpot right away, so don’t blow it, because you don’t get another chance. Anne asks her, if this situation were reversed, would SHE marry Allen, especially now that she got the part? HELL YES, Neely replies; even if she has real talent, what does it get you, after years of toil? Money, position, and respect. That’s it. Allen already has it all, and he’s willing to share it with Anne.

Anne’s next day at the office is filled with obnoxious press. People are taking her picture, asking her all sorts of questions. All of her officemates are smiling, smiling. She’s a modern-day Cinderella story! Henry starts looking through the employment agency numbers. She wants to cry, but she’s in public, so that would not be ladylike, as she was taught to comport herself. She asks to speak to him alone; she’s upset that he seems so callous about her leaving, but he says that isn’t true, it hurts terribly, because he considers her a friend now and doesn’t want to lose her. She says Lyon didn’t seem to care, either, and Henry sees that she’s already a goner over him. Henry warns her not to throw Allen over if it’s with the intent of dating Lyon, as sure, they probably will get together at some point, but it will be like the others he’s seen over the years; after the fun, just a bunch of crying and entreaties from our British friend to get the chick off his back.

Henry gets a phone call from one of their clients, Jennifer North. Anne doesn’t know who she is. She married a wealthy prince, made all the society pages, and now she wants an annulment, after four days of marriage. She signed a prenup, so if she wants to bail, she gets no money. She’s gorgeous, but can’t sing or act, really, but why are we talking about her? Go marry Allen and be happy with your life; get out of here. She wants to keep working, though, so they come to a deal; she can continue to work for Henry, but she has to stay engaged to Allan. This will keep her off-limits to Lyon, and also a stall for time. She might actually end up loving him, for one. At any rate, it’s not a done deal until the altar, and even still, until the vows are read, you can still run away.

Neely started a scrapbook for her with all of the newspaper announcements. Allen presents her with a giant rock at their private dinner before meeting with Gino again, to see Tony Polar’s opening night; he’s described as the “biggest singing sensation since Sinatra.” She attempts to refuse him, and he says that there’s nothing in the world you can’t get if you want it badly enough, and he’s determined to have her as his wife. He asks again for a chance to get to know the real him.

At the club, they see Helen Lawson, wearing a mink coat at least a decade old, and Jennifer North, who is blonde and bustily gorgeous. They’re both seated with Henry and Lyon right near the stage, so naturally all of Anne’s attention is now directed that way, and Lyon’s interactions with Jennifer. Tony Polar takes the stage, and he gives a great performance, directing some extra attention to Jennifer, at one point singing a love ballad directly to her.

A few days go by, and Anne’s in the papers again due to the ring. All of her coworkers ooh and aah over it. She thinks about Neely, and how her life is so uncomplicated compared to hers. Jennifer and Tony Polar are now an item; it appears that Lyon introduced them. Anne floats that thought about dreamily for a moment, until Neely comes into the office, sobbing. This flusters Anne, because no one must have a public meltdown, ever. Neely doesn’t care, however, because she’s upset that while they’re using the male part of the Gaucheros, she has been cut from Hit the Sky. Lyon works his showbiz magic and gets her back in, leaving it up to the director where to put her. This is when she begins to go by her stage name, Neely O’Hara. They give her a few lines in a crowd scene and then assign her as understudy to the second lead, Terry King. She also begins dating Mel Harris, a press agent, and is quite smitten with him.

Anne has to deliver a portfolio to Helen Lawson and watches her rehearsal as she waits for the break, marveling at how old and heavy she looks, yet still very compelling. Helen recognizes her from the society pages and is instantly much nicer to her, even giving her a ride home in her hired car. Then invites her to have a drink with her first in her spacious digs. Helen talks about her life offstage and which of her husbands she truly loved. Allen calls for her at Helen’s for their date. Gino tells Anne to invite Helen along, to which she readily agrees. Helen and Gino really seem to hit it off, and she gets him to promise to come to New Haven for the opening.

Helen confides to Anne in the bathroom that she really likes Gino, and gives Anne her unlisted home telephone number. Neely can’t believe that Anne likes Helen. Anne says that’s because no one really knows the real Helen, who is a sensitive soul, deep down. Neely insists it’s an act, that she’s a monster, and if she (Neely) ever gets famous, she’ll be so grateful that people even CARE. (Remember this). Their conversation is interrupted by Helen calling Anne, who stands out in the freezing hall to talk to her, and Helen is appalled when she finds out that Anne doesn’t have her own phone and has to share it with everyone else in the rooming house. Neely insists Helen has some sort of angle – trying to get Gino, or maybe Anne herself; maybe she’s got a thing for women now. Once again, Anne says she has it all wrong; Neely says she hopes so, and if that’s true, can she slip in a good word about her old buddy to her new one?

Allen doesn’t like Helen and he resolves when they’re married, they’ll find a whole new set of friends; he’ll even distance himself from Gino. And when is she leaving her job? He lets her off the hook for a date that night, but then Helen calls her at work and invites her to the Copa for the evening. Henry thinks she really needs a true friend and that she got famous too quickly to learn all the social niceties that come easily to others. That’s a cop-out. Helen calls back asking for her address to deliver a present; Anne tells her to ask Neely. The present is her own telephone and the first two months of the bill.

Helen calls her that night to whine that she’s not getting anywhere with Gino, as he hasn’t tried to put the moves on her; Anne says he just respects her, and Helen is like, fuck that, [gotta get laid]. She’s incredulous about Anne’s naivety and virginity at twenty years old. She tries to get Helen to promise not to call Gino the next day, to see if he calls her. Of course, he doesn’t, so Helen bothers Anne multiple times a day with this information. And Neely is bothering her, too – about what to wear to meet Mel’s family. Oh, Anne, you have such a hard life right now!

Especially now that Gino is asking Anne to get Helen off his back. She’s fun and all, but it’s not like that, ya dig? She practically grabbed him through his pants and begged him to come up to hers for a drink the last time they were all together. Anne reminds him of his promise to go to the New Haven opening, and now he’ll only agree to Philly . . . at least until he can figure out a way to beg off entirely. In return, Anne has to put Helen off until then, inventing a story about some business deal that has kept Gino SO busy he can’t think about dames right now.

Allen’s dame on the other hand needs to make up her mind. He says he’s waited a month and wants to know when they’re doing this. Of course, Anne says no, and he wants to know what she doesn’t like – the idea of marriage, or him? She doesn’t love him. Have you ever loved anyone? No. He thinks she’s just afraid of sex. After all, most girls her age are no longer virgins, jumping into bed with the first guy they’re curious about or hot for. Doesn’t she have urges or feelings about . . . anyone? They didn’t visit her home town for Thanksgiving; he hasn’t met any of her family. What does she want out of life?

Anne wants to fall in love and have children. That’s enough for Allen. He says they can be that perfect match, have a daughter that will have nothing but the best and go to the top schools. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t love HIM, because she loves the idea of all of this and she’ll be pretty crazy in the sack once she learns how, especially from him. He humblebrags that he’s awesome at sex. She puts him off until Christmas.

Anne goes to the New Haven opening of Hit the Sky with Henry and Lyon. Neely fills her in on all the last-minute drama with the show, and tells her about having sex with Mel. Anne is scandalized, of course, but Neely loves him, so don’t be such a prude, Anne, seriously.

She has a drink with Lyon, and she tries to make him laugh, because it seems that every time they talk, it’s always about serious things. They hold hands at the table. Henry complains about all of Helen’s bitching. They eat a quick dinner and then go to the show. At intermission, there’s talk about getting rid of Terry King, the second lead, despite her contract. If they don’t get rid of her, though, they know that Helen will make even more trouble for the entire crew.

At the afterparty, Anne floats the idea of talking to Helen about the whole Terry situation, and Lyon tells her not to even try. He echoes Neely’s sentiment that she doesn’t know the real Helen. Anne, of course, is so sure that she knows everything. They’re interrupted by the advance copies of the morning newspapers, which rated the show a success; Lyon suggests that they make their exit during this chaos, but Henry catches them and they all go to the director’s suite for a conference with Helen about the Terry King business. Helen doesn’t want anyone else getting credit here. No one uses her or her show to inflate their own careers.

But who’s going to replace her? Anne knows. She quietly suggests Neely, who is the current understudy; the director says no, because she looks like little Orphan Annie and she was only a temporary understudy. They eventually agree to give her a shot and the meeting is adjourned. Lyon and Anne take a late-night walk. Anne asks about what will happen to Terry; Lyon says they will force her to quit at rehearsal tomorrow.

The conversation turns to the two of them; despite Henry’s assurance that Lyon won’t touch someone else’s woman, Anne insists she wants to get together with him – and for more than this weekend. And of course, when she kisses HIM, it makes her mind spin, because of course he isn’t like all the other guys. To his credit, Lyon does say several times that she might realize once they get back to reality on Monday that she doesn’t want to take this dalliance any further, and he would understand. Now, this could also be a ploy, but I want to believe that he has SOME conscience. She tells him that she loves him.

She has no idea what she’s supposed to do now. She has never really thought about THIS part of it. Does she walk out of the bathroom naked? She ends up throwing a towel around herself and heads for the bed. Of course, once they get into it, he’s suddenly confronted with her virginity; he had no idea. She runs off to the bathroom to cry that he doesn’t want her. He does, it’s just that he doesn’t want to hurt her. They do it, and she grits her teeth and bares it, and then she’s happy that she was able to provide him some pleasure, even though there was none for herself. He wants her to stay the night, but she’s afraid of what others would think if they call for her at her room in the morning and she’s not there. As she heads back to her room and readies for sleep, she thinks about love and how she’s felt it now, and it’s the whole reason for living. [ann you poetic and noble land mermaid]

The next day, she heads over to rehearsal with Henry and Lyon. Before the meeting, Jennifer comes in (she has a bit part in the show) and from her conversation with Henry, we learn that she’s trying to get a picture deal, despite her lack of talent, but if you get a good contract, then they have to work with you and train you to be better. Henry wants to know how serious her relationship is with Tony Polar; she says they’re just having fun and technically she’s still married to the Prince. The annulment is up for hearing in a few days; Henry says that she just has to tell the judge that she’s a good Catholic and wanted kids, but the prince didn’t want any. And Anne will be her witness, which is the first SHE’S heard of this.

The fight has begun onstage between Terry and the director; basically, they begin to cut her role so that she will quit rather than having to fire her. And she does quit, so then they put Neely in her place and, as Lyon fills Anne in after the ordeal is over, all the cuts surely won’t remain as soon as Terry’s notice is signed and she’s back to New York. Helen, of course, is very happy with the change, and so secure in her star power now that she can afford to throw a few compliments Neely’s way. Helen also gives Anne some advice about Lyon – have your fun here in New Haven, but remember, Allen is the real deal and don’t give that up. Whereas Anne wishes she could send the ring back with a letter saying she’s in love with someone else.

Lyon and Anne take the train back to New York and head to Lyon’s apartment. She gushes all of her feelings onto him, about how much she loves him and belongs to him now, etc etc. You know, the typical Girl Comes on Way too Strong too quickly bit. Lyon tries to push her back and say that he might be giving all he can on his end and that might not be enough for her. Anne is apparently happy with whatever crumbs he wants to throw her way [love kernels – Rachel Bloom]

She goes back to her apartment to get a change of clothes and there is a big bouquet of flowers from Allen; she calls him and tells him that she wants to give the ring back. He thinks that someone has scared her off and he wants to meet in person to discuss but she says there’s no point because she’s in love. Allen doesn’t have to guess that it’s Lyon and he’s snide, which, warranted, Anne; no one believes your “it just happened” excuse. I mean, yes, she never said she loved Allen, but it only took one longing glance from Lyon and she was all over him with the love bombs. She wants to give back the ring; Allen tells her to keep it, hock it, let it cut her skin, who cares? What about Gino and Philly? He was only going to do that because of Anne.

The Philly opening heralds the first performance of Neely’s ballad, and she receives accolades. Anne realizes that Lyon did not bring any luggage with him, because he was planning to go back on the late train to New York, rather than stay over. Helen is upset when she doesn’t see Gino. Anne just wants to leave, because Lyon is leaving, and Helen starts the waterworks about how she doesn’t have any friends. Anne wants them to stay, but Lyon says that’s not in his pay grade, and leaves her on the sidewalk watching the cab ride away with him inside it.

After the party, Anne is hanging out in Helen’s suite and she tries to explain about Gino and Allen. Anne explains primly that she can’t see Allen any more if she loves Lyon. Helen tells her that she’s fucked it all up not just for herself, but for Helen, too. THAT’S why Gino isn’t there. Anne gets up to leave and Helen lets loose with vitriol about how Anne is a nobody now and why would she bother with the likes of her. And by the way, Lyon gets bored easily and Helen would know because he boned her, too.

So, now Anne is without a bed to sleep in and no money. What to do, what to do? Oh, sit in a chair in the hall and sob quietly into her hands. Jennifer North sees her and invites her to her room. Anne pours out the whole story and while Jennifer invites her to stay in the room, she just wants to borrow some cash so she can get home. Jennifer says she can pay her back with lunch in New York, and gives her some advice on how to deal with Lyon – be sweet and admit you were stupid for thinking she was friends with Helen. “Remember, there’s only one way to own a man – by making him want you.”

Back home, she received a telegram that her Aunt Amy has died. She calls Lyon on impulse but doesn’t speak and he asks if it’s Elizabeth on the other end of the line. This makes her ill to think about, so, despite her earlier reservations, she takes off for Boston on the next train, sending a telegram to Henry about “personal business” keeping her away until Friday. Henry misinterprets this as her eloping with Allen. She smooths everything over upon her return and spends the weekend at Lyon’s apartment. He invites her to stay with him, if she wants to; she oversteps and mentions marriage, but he says he’s not sure what he really wants right now. He’s been thinking seriously about writing his book, and he thinks a husband should support his wife; these two ideas do not go well together, because he doesn’t do anything by halves. If he’s going to write, he won’t be working for Henry, and therefore, won’t have enough to support them both. Anne says she has money, but he does not like that idea. He also doesn’t even know if he has the talent. So, he holds her off about future plans until the book is finished.

Jennifer gets her annulment and she and Anne have lunch. Jennifer is surprised that Allen didn’t want the ring back. Tony wants her to quit the show and travel with him but hasn’t asked her to marry him. When the show comes in, Jennifer floats the idea of the three of them (Jennifer, Anne, and Neely) sharing an apartment. Finally, she also advises Anne to sell the ring and invest the money.

Jennifer’s POV. It’s now December 1945 and almost time for Hit the Sky’s New York opening. Jennifer is a hit everywhere she goes. Anne found them an apartment, and Jennifer muses that it must be nice to have feelings for a person like Anne does for Lyon. But, on the other hand, a great body and no strings get you more things, like the sweet beaver coat she has now from one night with an attorney. She had thought about Lyon that night he was her escort to the Tony Polar concert, but she chose Tony because of his star power. All of these thoughts flit about as she does her evening exercises to keep her breasts firm, massages the gals with cocoa butter, and preps her face for bed, including a “frownie” plaster to smooth her forehead wrinkles (for those of you so afflicted, they still sell such things for your face and you can find them online, should you wish). She’s pretty sure that Tony would have asked her to marry him if it wasn’t for his sister, Miriam. The only time she doesn’t see Miriam is when she and Tony are having sex. Then her mom calls to whine about money and how the amount Jennifer is sending isn’t enough.

We also learn that Jennifer North is her stage name so that she could pass as nineteen (she’s really twenty-five) and no one from her hometown of Cleveland could trace her. The real reason for the annulment from the Prince was because he had no money; it certainly appeared so, with the jewelry and furs, but it was all either family heirlooms or traded for publicity. The castle in Italy was legit, but she would have been living in poverty – genteel poverty, but poverty nevertheless. And perhaps trading sexual favors to a wine merchant. Her mother gives her shitty advice about her figure and how she’s going to quickly lose it anyway, so make the best of what you have.

After the call, Jennifer drifts into a reverie about Maria, the most beautiful girl in school, a senior when Jennifer was a freshman. Maria was Spanish and didn’t talk to anyone, until one day when Jennifer was crying her eyes out in the library over a letter from her mother, telling her the money was gone and she was to return home at the end of the term. Maria is kind to her and they share confidences right away. Maria is disgusted by sex with men, but she’s expected to make a match with a good family for the sake of her own in Spain. She got pregnant from her first time, had an abortion, and then infection followed, so now she cannot have children. Jennifer feels sorry, but Maria thinks it’s great, for none of these men will want to marry her if she can’t have children, so she’ll never have to actually go through with it.

She invites Jennifer to come home to Spain with her for the summer and they will figure out how to stall Jennifer’s return to the States. The war’s havoc has ravaged Spain, however, so her father tells Maria to spend the summer in Switzerland. They end up staying there for three years; Maria introduces her into a more gentle art of lovemaking soon after their arrival. When the money runs out, they go to Spain. Jennifer stays for a year, but she is growing weary of Maria’s possession of her. She writes a secret letter to her mother, asking her to demand Jennifer return home due to family illness. Maria gives her money and Jennifer leaves most of her clothes to make it look like she will be returning. She heads to New York, and shortly thereafter, was introduced to the Prince.

Neely’s POV, January 1946. Hit the Sky is a success. Neely has received some accolades, not enough to incur Helen’s ire, but better than little Neely herself even expected. The apartment the three girls are sharing is good, too; Gino’s showgirl girlfriend was dumped by him, so she ran off to London and sublet her apartment. It’s only until June, but by then, the three of them could all be married to their respective beaus. Mel has a better job, as a writer on a radio show. Neely is giddy, hobnobbing with celebrities at parties who know who SHE is. And in addition to her part in Hit the Sky, she has a gig booked for the nightclub set, too. Her agency got her a voice coach and they’re paying for him, so she’s really set now. But it’s really just for the money she can earn so she’ll have a nice nest egg for her marriage. For marriage will always come first.

In March, Neely has her nightclub solo act and she is a hit. Her career is off and running and the phone rings at all hours and studios begin fighting for her. Helen stopped talking to her, too, so Jennifer said that’s how she knows she is a real star now! She gets a movie deal and the studio head (known as The Head by everyone) will rent her a house in Hollywood. Mel isn’t keen on this, as his job is in New York, but Neely says that she’ll be making five times the amount of money he is, and besides, she’d be nothing without him out there. He isn’t sure, because California is a very different place, and no one will respect a house husband out there, but he finally gives in.

Jennifer’s POV, December 1946. Jennifer is trying to shove all of her clothes into too-small closets in a hotel, and whines to Anne that she misses the apartment. Anne says she’ll buy Jennifer’s mink from her, as she is making good money now; she got twenty thousand for the ring and Henry invested that plus her other savings in AT&T. Jen hasn’t been saving much of anything and has been doing modeling, but she’s sending most of her money to her mother, so she’s really banking on marrying Tony. Lyon finished his book, but now they have to see if he can market it to a publisher. Neely cut an album and Anne has been playing it nonstop. Tony is going to California in February to start a radio show, and despite Anne’s hopeful wondering, he’s never going to ask her to marry him as long as his sister is around.

Jennifer readies for bed and muses about her age. She’s starting to see little lines under her eyes. Miriam has been trying to trip her up about her age. She realizes that Tony isn’t very bright . . . or is it because his sister rules his entire life and never gives him a chance to make a decision about anything? She can’t sleep still so she steals out of bed and gets a small bottle out of her handbag. Her friend Irma had given her some little pills, tiny red capsules called Seconals; these little dolls will help knock you out and give you a good night’s sleep, her friend said, but she could only give her four, as a prescription only got her ten a week.

Seconals, or secobarbital sodium, was patented in 1934. One of the family of barbiturates that were popularized during that time, it was known on the street as “red devils” or “reds.” It is sometimes used today to calm a person prior to surgery, but has been largely replaced by the benzodiazapene family of drugs, such as Xanax, Klonopin, or Ativan. It is seriously addictive, and mixing it with alcohol is a definite no.

Anyway, Jennifer takes a pill and the euphoria rushes upon her and sends her to sleep. Irma tells her that she’s not going to get a prescription from a doctor who is good; he needs to be a little shady, and sometimes you have to hunt for a little bit to find the right one. Jennifer finds one and he gives her her week’s supply of dope. Anne is only seeing that Jennifer is sleeping, and she is happy that her friend is finally feeling better. Jennifer tells Anne she’s planning to give an ultimatum to Tony; they’re either driving to Elkton, Maryland tonight (no waiting period for marriage) or it’s over.

Tony comes to pick her up and she’s in a robe. She lets him touch her body for a bit, and then she tells him that if he wants more, he has to marry her. He seems to be all for this plan. But then she gets a telegram for Anne (her mother has died) and has to call her at Lyon’s. And Tony finds his opening, pinning her down and fucking her while she’s ON THE PHONE. So, now that his mind is clear, he puts her off about marriage. He leaves her to get changed, and Jennifer decides that she’ll jet out and be there for Anne for her mother’s funeral.

Jennifer is surprised that Anne doesn’t want to keep the house, even to rent to others, but Anne is sick of having any Lawrenceville ties. She just wants to be done, now that all of her family is dead. Jennifer leaves her there to take care of things and thinks about Tony and his sister on the drive back to New York. Tony has been going crazy and calling for her the few days she has been gone, and she smiles to herself in satisfaction. In addition, she got a WHOLE BOTTLE of Seconals in Lawrenceville, not just ten measly pills. She luxuriates in the fact that she can take two that night. She plays this game with Tony for a few more days, and then he’s waiting for her outside the theatre with his car and takes her to Elkton.

After his excitement wears off, he’s afraid that Miriam will kill him. He starts blubbering like a baby, but Jennifer pushes her revulsion aside and chalks his babyishness up to celebrity emotion. And then just like that, he holds her to her promise of letting him do whatever he wants with her, and flips her over for some very rough intercourse.

Meanwhile, Miriam is upset at the detective she’d hired to prevent all of this from happening. He argues that he never thought Jennifer would miss her own show and hightail it out of town. Miriam is still pissed, but concedes privately that he’s right. Miriam is worried about his career; so far, everyone had been fooled. Tony looks like a normal man, but mentally and emotionally, he’s about ten years old. Miriam has been able to cover for him so far, and has nothing against Jennifer herself, but now the whole story could be blown wide open. Even Tony didn’t know the real truth about his parentage.

Apparently, Miriam and Tony are products of two different fathers. Their mother was a singing waitress and climbed into bed with anyone who wanted to share it. Polar is a stage name, taken from a shortened version of one of their mother’s nicest suitors. Their mother died in childbirth, leaving Miriam, aged fourteen, with a squalling baby to raise on her own. When he was a month old, he had seizures; he was in the hospital for a year. More seizures off and on until he was five years old. By second grade, he was really struggling with school and they sent him home, leaving Miriam to teach him however she could. Miriam was tired, but she couldn’t stop fighting for her brother; she even made secret visits to Washington to get Tony out of the draft. Despite her reservations, she determines to make this new wrench in her plans work for her and Tony.

Anne’s POV, same time period. Anne returns to New York to find a note from Jennifer about eloping with Tony. While she’s happy for her friend, she feels even lonelier now, especially as Lyon’s book needs a complete rewrite, so that’s another six months of being strung along. She has plenty of money now, so that’s not the problem, and the house in Lawrenceville, once it sells, will be even more money. However, she’s upset that she has to continue visiting Lawrenceville in order to unload the family home. She brings up supporting Lyon again, and he won’t have it, because it would be too humiliating.

Lyon visits her while she’s up in Lawrenceville taking care of the house. He thinks the house is beautiful and she looks like she belongs there, which she is offended by. He floats the idea that they could be married and live here, because then his money would stretch further than New York and he could write his book. Anne is filled with panic and is vehement about how much she hates it here. And it’s all well and good that he would write and keep busy, but what is she to do during the day? Since she won’t even give it a chance, he leaves; and he doesn’t call. Anne assumes it’s just a little tiff and it will blow over. Instead, he goes back to England, where he has a house, and he leaves a letter for Anne, telling her that he’s going to go off and write, and not have anyone be beholden to him; that it was selfish of him to make her wait around for him, et cetera. He leaves her the keys to his apartment.

Jennifer’s POV, May 1947. Jennifer is reading a letter from Anne, the first where she hasn’t mentioned Lyon. She’s living in his apartment and hasn’t heard from him at all. She and Tony had set up house in California in January and it’s too hot for her. Beautiful people abound, too; she’s a dime a dozen here. And a wife is just a decoration, talking to bartenders at parties. Miriam gives her a fifty-dollar-a-week allowance and she sends it all to her mother, who complains it’s not enough. And she can’t even get near Tony right now, because he’s always busy! Or they’re boning, and after that, he’s done for the night.

She decides to visit Neely, who only lives a few blocks away. Neely’s first picture received rave reviews and the next one was slotted to be great as well. Neely is at the studio, but Mel is home. He tells Jennifer about Neely’s wardrobe fitting; Ted Casablanca is a big name designer in this world, and he’s dressing her, but she has to diet. They have her on little green pills.

When Neely gets back, she’s concerned about Mel. The studio told him that they’ll handle her press from now on. Ted Casablancas says that he’s a joke. Anyway, she’s fucking Ted and has lost five pounds, thanks to these gorgeous little pills. She doesn’t want to eat anything, but they keep her up at night and she can’t sleep. Jennifer suggests HER lovely little red pills, the Seconals. Neely also tells Jennifer she intends to dump Mel soon; the Head is going to get Mel a big offer out east, then fix it so he’s caught with another woman and Neely can get her divorce. Because she hinted and Mel just cried, so he needs to go, because how dare a man show his emotions!

Neely’s head swells as she talks up how awesome she is now. Hired cars, personal masseuse, bigger salary, a future house in Beverly Hills. Who cares about New York and Broadway? That shit is small time! My pictures play in London, Jennifer. LONDON.

Later, Jennifer wonders if this is how Tony sees her, as a drag. What about a baby? She’d have something to occupy her time, and it would bring Tony closer.

She gets pregnant a few months later. She visits Neely at the studio to share her news. Mel is going to New York. She’s still fucking Ted, and is down to ninety-eight pounds. As soon as the divorce with Mel is final, she’s going to marry Ted. The Head suggested a prenuptial agreement. She’s still taking the green weight-loss pills (probably speed) and thanks to Jennifer’s suggestion, the red ones. She’s also added Nembutals, which are yellow. The yellow pill helps to drag out your sleep; she does it on weekends to sleep for twelve hours. Nembutals are pentobarbitone, a short-acting barbiturate, sometimes known as yellow jackets. These are no longer available in pill form, as of 1999. These are the pills that were found in Marilyn Monroe’s system at the time of her death. And this is generally the drug of choice for lethal injections in some states.

When Jennifer gets back, she learns that Tony got the studio contract, and the director and his wife are having dinner with them. She announces her pregnancy at dinner. She sees Miriam’s horrified face, which is quickly replaced by a smile. After the guests leave, she sends Jennifer upstairs for rest, then turns on Tony about not being careful. Tony thinks it will be “fun” to have a kid, and he doesn’t know why Miriam is so upset. Jennifer is coming back down when Miriam drops the bomb about him screwing one of the singers on his radio show. Jennifer tries to get him to cut Miriam out, but she took care of him like a mother, and besides, who will help him with his career?

Jennifer calls Henry the next day for advice. He tells her to run. Come back to New York, see if Tony comes after her. He tells her the right way to go about it. Tony follows her to New York, promises everything, except getting rid of Miriam. But that’s the only thing she wants. So he goes back to California without her, and Henry draws up a temporary separation agreement for her, for divorce after the baby was born. She takes the red pills to sleep.

Miriam comes to visit her. She asks her how much it would cost for her to get rid of the baby. Tony doesn’t know that she’s here. After some back and forth, Miriam finally tells Jennifer the truth about Tony and that the condition is genetic. And by the time Tony is fifty, there’s a good chance he will be completely insane. The condition is never explicitly named, but it’s presumed to be Huntington’s Disease. Jennifer has an abortion and goes to Mexico for the divorce, then registers with an agency and starts a modeling career. She dates Claude Chardot, a French film producer, who wants her to go back to France with him and do arthouse type films; with nudity, which scandalizes Anne but Jennifer easily explains it’s more accepted overseas.

Anne’s POV, January 1948. At Jennifer and Claude’s farewell party, Anne meets Kevin Gillmore, the owner of Gillian Cosmetics. Kevin wants Anne to be the new face of his cosmetics line, especially with television blowing up as the next big advertising space. She doesn’t want to leave her job, even though this new gig would be more money and something different – because, obviously, she wants to leave that link to Lyon open. Jennifer tells her that Lyon went back to England, after a brief visit in New York. Anne decides to take the Gillian gig. Henry is sad to lose her, but he thinks it’s a good idea and advises her to take diction lessons for the eventual television spots.

Next time she meets Henry, they talk about Jennifer, and how sweet she is, and how much Anne has changed in the past two years. They talk about Lyon, and Henry says that he can never love anyone more than himself. Henry only ever loved one woman – Helen Lawson, even though he knew it would never be reciprocated.

Neely’s POV, 1950. Neely is reading a script, drinking some booze, wide-awake at 11:30. She’s taken two Seconals, and now pops a third, so she can sleep and be on the set at 6am. She realizes as she stumbles back to bed she missed her twin sons’ first birthday. She’d needed Dexies (Dexedrine, dextroamphetamine, a CNS stimulant, used for ADHD and narcolepsy; highly addictive) to stay awake today. Ted, her husband, wasn’t home, probably out fucking a guy. Apparently, he’d done it before, with an English actor and she took a whole bottle of pills and had to have her stomach pumped. He claimed that he’d gone with the guy because he felt insecure. She’s twenty-two now, the biggest star on the Century lot, with her Beverly Hills house and two little boys.

Jennifer’s French pictures are causing a sensation; she’s living with Claude in Paris. Anne sent a copy of Lyon’s new book, which had shitty reviews, people calling him a sellout. Anne’s picture is in all the magazines as the Gillian Girl. And now she’s going to be on television doing commercials! The television is really scaring the studios; they’re dropping contract players, and no one gets multiple-picture deals anymore. Except her, she’s got a five-year contract, because she’s a big name, baby. She goes downstairs to get some more booze and hears noise out by the pool; it’s Ted and one of the new beauties at the studio. She has a drunken confrontation with the two of them, and Ted leaves.

1953. She fought the divorce for three years; the first week after he left she didn’t show up to the studio for a week. The Head makes Ted escort Neely to openings and maintain the “perfect family” image. She won an Academy Award, though, and after that, SHE had the power. She made the studio drop Ted and allow the divorce to go public. She realizes she can skip a few days here and there. She can walk off the set if she doesn’t like what’s going on. However, her last two pictures lost the studio money because they cost more to make than they earned at the box office. Neely has excuses for everything, of course.

She’s built up a tolerance to the pills, that much is certain. She’s taking multiple Seconals and Nembutals with copious amounts of Scotch. And the booze is making her gain weight so her costumes don’t fit right. She thinks everyone at the studio is out to get her, but no one gets Neely O’Hara! She goes downstairs and eats some caviar and pate and drinks more liquor, telling the butler to call the studio tomorrow and tell them she has laryngitis and won’t be there.

1956. The Head summons her to the studio to tell her that her pictures are going overbudget and this new picture can’t do that, as they’re trying to fight against the insidiousness of television. So they’re replacing her. While she’s sitting there, he agrees to terms about Jennifer getting an American picture deal. Then she’s dismissed. She drinks and takes some pills. She goes through this cycle several times and the next thing she knows, she’s in the hospital and has been there for five days. The studio doctor says that she won’t be up to filming and she realizes that is their out, but Neely has come back to play and she’s back in the picture. Her agent warns her not to miss one day of filming. And the director is scared, because if he blows it he will lose his job, too.

The first day, she needs multiple takes for one scene and when they break for dinner, she storms off the set and goes home. The director goes to Janie Lord’s house, who is next in line for the part, and tells her she’s the star now. They send Neely a wire telling her not to report back to the studio.

Anne’s POV, 1957. Anne is worried about Neely; Kevin stays over most nights now. He’s in love with her, but she’s still the same reserved Anne (well, except for that time with Lyon). Not that Kevin wants to marry her; he did all that a long time ago (he’s 57 to her 31), his kids wouldn’t care for it, and he thinks that she’d take him for granted if they were married.

Neely comes to visit and she looks terrible – heavy and ill-kempt. Anne tells her very little about her life. Her time in New York puts a little bit of the sparkle back into her, especially since her fans are still crazy for her. Kevin gets the idea to put her on television and she keeps turning him down. And then Helen Lawson makes her triumphant return to Broadway after being away for six years. The show, however, is a flop. They all end up at a nightclub performance where the singer calls Neely up on stage to perform. They run into Helen Lawson in the bathroom, and it quickly turns ugly. Neely grabs Helen’s hair and it comes off in her hands, then tries to flush the wig down the toilet, which causes the bathroom to overflow. Neely agrees to do the television spectacular.

Kevin goes all out with the publicity and the sets, and Neely shapes up, determined to prove Helen Lawson that she’s NOT a washed-up star. She doesn’t get the hang of the different cameras and cues, however, and she panics. They try to talk her down, because if she doesn’t do the show she’ll never work ever again. They send her to her dressing room to relax before air-time. She gets someone to bring her a bottle of Seconals and takes a handful so she’ll black out.

The network brings charges against her and she gets a one-year suspension from all studio and nightclub work. The newspapers attack and degrade her. She goes back to her house in California and boozes and drugs it up by her pool. Anne feels responsible in a way and wonders if she should go out to Cali, but the commercials are taking up most of her time, especially now with color tests. Jennifer never did come back to the States, turned down the movie deal. She’s 37 now, off the record of course, so maybe it’s better that she stays in Europe, because Anne has concluded that Hollywood is a scary place.

Jennifer’s POV, 1957. Instead of going through with the picture deal that time, Jennifer took half a bottle of Seconals and had to have her stomach pumped. But now she’s received a much better offer, which results in a half million for her, and tax-free to boot. Jennifer is thinking of a three-month vacation before she has to go, but Claude examines her critically and says she needs a face lift and to lose a couple of pounds. Jennifer says she doesn’t want the pills they gave Neely and he says that she will do the “sleep cure” in Switzerland; basically, the doctors will put her to sleep for eight days and she will awaken thinner. When she gets up, she has lost twelve pounds. Claude has also arranged for her to have hormone shots to keep the integrity of her breasts. She accepts all of this and admits when she arrives in New York that she looks great.

She catches up with Anne, and says that Kevin is a shit for not marrying her. It doesn’t much matter to Anne, though, as we’ve said, but she wonders if she maybe should have handled the Lyon situation better. He left you pretty easily, though, Anne, Jennifer says; he couldn’t have cared much for you, and I have to agree. Two beautiful women, not getting the love they want.

Anne, 1960. Kevin has a heart attack, which makes him face his own mortality. He says that if he makes it, he’ll marry her. Kevin decides to sell his company and then they’ll marry after that. She resigns herself to it. Not that money is a problem now; between her career and her stock options, she’s pretty wealthy. Poor Jennifer on the other hand, always scrounging. Jennifer has made five pictures now, but still hasn’t found her man.

Neely, after her suspension year, had a major studio deal. She looked great, but once again, after a few weeks, she was making trouble again and holding up production. They finally had to scrap the picture at a cost of half a million dollars. She showed up at Anne’s apartment and disrupted her life for a bit, with her fans and her pills and booze. Kevin checked her into a hotel until the sale of her California house went through; she gets arrested, then disappears, showing up in London, then Spain. But now Anne’s letters have been returned “address unknown.”

Jennifer, 1960. Jennifer shows up in New York unexpectedly and meets up with Anne. Her big news is that she met a big-shot senator and he seems to love her for HER, not her body. (She says, but then also says that he thought her boobs weren’t real, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren’t just padding, etc). They’ve been grooming him for the presidency, but he says he’d give all that up for her. They announce their engagement and she goes to Hollywood to film her last picture.

1961. She goes shopping with Anne and has a sudden stabbing pain in her abdomen that doubles her over. She says it’s just her period and she’s been getting them more frequently. Anne asks her when she had a check up last, and Jennifer says four year ago, after her last abortion. The doctor tells her she has polyps in her uterus and needs to have them removed. They check her into the hospital, and while they were checking her heartbeat during the procedure, they found a lump in her breast; it’s malignant, so she needs a mastectomy. When she hears that her breast needs to be removed, she panics, despite the fact that they tell her the prognosis is probably good if they remove it now. She tries to leave the hospital, especially after she hears that after going through the surgery, she can’t have children, because it might stir up ovarian cancer. Anne tries to talk her down, because didn’t she say that Win (her fiancé) loved her and not just her body?

When Win comes in, he seems okay at first. He’s fine with not having children, it was mainly for her, etc. But then he starts feeling her breasts and says that THOSE are his babies, and is perturbed when he sees the bandage from the lumpectomy. He’s horrified that her breast might be scarred. And then he has to leave. She doesn’t dare tell him about what the doctor really needed to do. Instead, she slips out of the hospital under cover of night, goes to her hotel, and takes an entire bottle of sleeping pills.

Her funeral is a mob scene. Her mother comes to town to chew scenery, Claude comes up with a forged will, and Neely finally surfaces. She does a television show, taped this time, and it’s a great comeback. They sign her for a picture deal in Hollywood, again.

Neely, 1961. Neely speculates why Jennifer “took a powder” and concludes it was probably because she was losing her looks. And Helen Lawson has lost her voice, but Neely, Neely has talent and you can’t take that away. Three weeks later, her words come back to haunt her – she can’t sing. They had to can the picture. Anne takes her in for a while and Neely is slowly cruising toward a breakdown. One day, she goes out with Kevin and Neely takes her pills and booze and gets despondent; no one really cares if she lives or dies, she’s nearly out of money, even her kids just want what her money will buy them. She takes the rest of the pills, more booze, some aspirin, then drops her whiskey glass and breaks it. She picks up the silver and digs it into her wrist. Then calls the operator (remember no 911 in those days) for help.

She wakes up in the hospital and Kevin tells her they managed to dissuade the ambulance from taking her to Bellevue, due to her actions. She says she wasn’t trying to die, she just wanted to sleep. Anne remembers Jennifer’s sleep cure, and they talk to the doctor about it. Neely’s doctor says she needs a year in a sanitarium instead; that’s the only thing that will help her, intensive treatment. Kevin finds a place that will do the sleep cure; Neely gladly signs herself in without reading the forms. The doctors tell Kevin and Anne that Neely needs deep psychiatric care and rehab for her pill addiction. The paper she signed was an agreement to stay for at least thirty days. Anne is footing the bill, which later has Kevin see that Anne doesn’t really want to marry him, especially now that she says she’ll keep working for Gillian Cosmetics at the higher salary they wish to offer her. Kevin is seething inside that Neely always fucks up everything.

Meanwhile, Neely has just discovered that she will not be getting the sleep cure, and has in fact been admitted to the ward. She is uncooperative so they put her in a restraining water bath; she tears the canvas top with her foot. They eventually give her something to knock her out and put her in the dormitory.

The next day she talks to some of the patients and learns the rules of the place. However, she doesn’t participate in gymnastics, or crafts. She writes an angry letter about the place and is appalled that it will be read before it is sent, but it’s to protect the patient. Meantime, she’s starting to go through withdrawals.

Anne, 1961. She signed the agreement to commit Neely for a few months; the doctors talked her into it because Neely is at great risk to herself. Which is probably true . . . She advances but then has a setback when she’s able to get her hands on a bottle of Nembutals. Anne signed for a new season of advertising with Gillian Cosmetics and Kevin, who sold the company, hangs around like a lost dog; because of course, they aren’t married yet. He blames Neely.

Then, one day, Kevin is introduced to Lyon, who still looks good at this late date. He’s come to see Anne, of course, and she is weakened at the sight of him . . . of course. Kevin leaves the two of them to catch up, with difficulty. It’s been 15 years. He’s in town to write a series for the newspaper about television. And even though she’s with Kevin, she tells him he can see her. She explains to Kevin that she has to see if he’s the same Lyon. Kevin starts crying so she lamely promises that she won’t leave him.

[Yeaah, riiight]

They go to dinner and catch up, then leave the restaurant and have sex. He brings up Kevin, and the fact that he never wrote or tried to see her all these years; of course, he wanted to write, but just couldn’t. If he had any character, he wouldn’t see her anymore, but he knows that will never happen, and at least I have to give him a modicum of credit for being self-aware. However, once this assignment is over in six weeks, he’s going back to London to continue writing his next book.

When she gets back to her apartment, Kevin is there, waiting up for her. They argue and then he cries and begs her not to leave him. She wonder is she’s responsible – hmm, let me see; you abandoned a guy who obviously loves and cares about you to go fuck around with a guy who couldn’t give you a courtesy of a letter or phone call in fifteen years. How do you think that looks?

Eventually, she promises not to see Lyon ever again. She makes good on her promise for two weeks, then he comes into 21 one night with a young thing wearing a provocative outfit leaving little to the imagination. He doesn’t see Anne. She doesn’t think Kevin noticed any of this, but he did, as he tells her when they get home. He tells her she’s handing in her notice and they’re taking that around-the-world trip they planned long ago. He gets nasty, daring her to call Lyon now and say she wants to see him, betting she’ll get an immediate brush-off due that young “dish” he had on his arm at the club. He’s a bit surprised when Lyon says she can come right over, then rallies and says it’s probably a threesome. He shouts that he’s wasted a lot of years on a bum passing as a lady and storms out.

She is relieved to be free, freshens her makeup, and goes to Lyon. The little filly he was with is some up-and-coming singer in England, he explains. Kevin calls her at the hotel and apologizes, begs for her to come home. When she hangs up, she asks Lyon what to do. He says he loves her, but he doesn’t beg. It’s an emotion, not a contract. He’s going back to England in a few weeks. She’d be bored in London. She runs out of the hotel and he doesn’t come after her. She walks home, thinking about both men. After weighing them, she decides on Lyon and runs back to the hotel.

She and Kevin are through for good. He does that thing where you parade around hotties in front of your ex to make them jealous. He also tries to cancel Anne’s contract but is outvoted and they even renew her and give her a raise! Anne just pities him. In the meantime, she basks in the glow of Lyon’s attention. He tells her to think about London.

Anne gets Henry’s advice; it basically boils down to she has to find a way to keep him in New York.

She visits Neely, who tells her a story about a cabaret thing the patients put on, and she sings one of Helen Lawson’s numbers and there’s a male patient watching her; he hasn’t spoken in two years, but suddenly begins to sing with her, harmonizing and so forth. He knows her, speaks to her, then walks away. It’s Tony Polar. Anne suddenly realizes that’s why Jennifer had the abortion. Anyway, she says a ghostwriter is going to come to interview her (that’s Henry’s hand in the Get Lyon to Stay plan) and Anne hears that one of the rival offices is trying to buy Henry out. This gives Anne the idea to buy the company and have Lyon run it. Her interest in it to be kept secret, of course, learning her lesson from last time.

1962. Lyon becomes vice president, Henry retires, and Lyon and Anne get married. Henry tells Anne that Lyon will find out next year when they file taxes, though. The business does well and the idea is floated that they could sign Neely. George thinks that if they could get her back on top, the business will come rolling in. The plan is keep her fat and book her as a series of concerts.

Anne gets pregnant and Neely signs with the agency. They start her singing engagements in Canada and she is a hit. Anne permanently resigns from Gillian Cosmetics. Once she gets back to New York, Neely is tired of being on the road and the old fuck-you-I’m-a-star attitude makes its appearance once again. George can’t handle her anymore, so he sends Lyon in. Neely will only do the West Coast and London shows if Lyon comes with her. When Lyon pleads Anne’s pregnancy, Neely tells him to reschedule her bookings until Anne gives birth and then she can come with them on the road; the baby won’t know her mom is gone for a few weeks! Lyon can’t reschedule the West Coast dates, though; and Anne wouldn’t leave her baby right after birth. Neely right away is [what about me? It isn’t fair]; it’s just ten days. She needs someone there so that she doesn’t fall back into her old habits.

Lyon says he won’t go with Neely and is even willing to let her leave the agency for their competition. The next day, he comes home angry; he discovered that Anne owns half of the agency. So now he feels that he has to double her investment; he’s stiff and angry and ugh, this whole thing is so fucking sexist I could scream. So now, of course, he HAS to accompany Neely to California.

1963. Anne has the baby, a girl named Jennifer. Neely’s concerts in California are going well, but it means that Lyon will be away for a few more weeks. When he returns, he’s barely there, rushing off for screenings or to massage Neely’s ego. She has dinner with Henry, telling him (and us) that Jennifer is now three months old and Lyon has spent four days with her. Now he’s in London, and been there for a month. But Neely won’t stay there alone. Then she gets a small picture deal, in Europe. Anne asks to go with him but he shoots that idea down right away; Neely is all attitude again and Lyon needs no distractions while he handles her with kid gloves. She’s making them all money, so it’s important that she be managed the right way.

Months go by, then Anne reads a blurb in the society column about Neely and Lyon being seen together. Neely has dropped a lot of weight and looks really good again. Lyon is back in the States with Neely and hasn’t phoned. Henry knew the truth all along. But Anne doesn’t want a divorce. Henry advises her that she must not let on that she knows Lyon is “balling around,” as he puts it, with Neely. Eventually, Neely’s cobra side will come out, and Lyon will drop her and come back to Anne.

Anne says that she might take a Seconal and Henry gives her a bottle; he’s been using them for twenty years. It’s her first one, so it takes quickly and she falls asleep without having to think about her marriage. When Lyon returns, he’s surprised that there isn’t a row. Neely comes back to New York not long after, leaving Anne to make feeble excuses and take more “dolls” to sleep. She gets more brazen, with photos in the papers. Henry calls Neely with Anne listening in. And Neely is AWFUL – saying that she can take what she wants, and Lyon makes her happy, so to hell with Anne! Some gratitude. Henry tells Anne she’s GOT to hang on; Neely will self-destruct again.

Jennifer gets sick. Anne tries to call Neely in order to speak to Lyon, but Neely is dismissive about the baby’s high fever and doesn’t tell Lyon. She is taking pills and booze again to sleep. The baby is in the hospital and actually has pneumonia. Lyon rushes to be with her. Of course, this interferes with Neely’s plans and she calls Lyon up and DEMANDS he come over right now, and he does.

Anne returns to television, as does Neely. Every time Lyon comes to New York for a quick visit, Neely constantly interferes with her phone calls. Anne overhears a conversation between the two of them where Neely threatens to tell Anne the truth about them and Lyon lies that he already told her.

1964. The cobra in Neely is out and slithering. Anne is feeling jaded and old, after a young up-and-comer named Margie Parks gushes over her and tells her how much she idolized her growing up. Lyon leaves Neely in California to help with the new girl’s television deal. Neely takes an overdose of pills and Lyon flies to her. She says she did it because he was trying to build up little Margie on HER time. That’s the straw; Lyon walks out and the agency drops her as soon as he gets back to New York. Neely is on her way to her old self – too many boozy parties and eventually, Lyon says, she will snap again.

1965. Anne and Lyon are throwing a New Year’s party. She’s tired. She goes to kiss the baby and then sneaks to the bedroom, just for a few minutes’ reprieve. She turns off the lights and leaves the door open and lays on the bed. Lyon comes in with Margie and starts macking on her. Anne realizes that there will always been another girl, and eventually it will hurt less and one day there will be nothing left.

She decides to take two Seconals because it’s New Year’s Eve. The dolls are always good company.

[break]

As I said at the top of the show, Valley of the Dolls is considered a roman à clef; Susann herself shrugged at the description and just said she unconsciously picked up certain personality aspects from people. However, a quick run-down of who’s who based on multiple sources:

Helen Lawson is purported to be Ethel Merman. Anne Welles was Bea Cole, a small actress and one of Susann’s good friends. The older version of Neely is based on Judy Garland. Tony Polar is based on Dean Martin, except for the Huntington’s disease angle, which was based on Susann’s son; he was severely autistic and was institutionalized. Jennifer could be Marilyn Monroe. The relationship between Anne and Lyon was based on the saga of Lee Reynolds (a television producer who worked with Jackie Gleason), who remained loyal to her talent-agent husband, David Begelman, even after his entanglement with Judy Garland helped destroy their marriage.

Valley of the Dolls seems like a standard Hollywood soap opera, and, as I said earlier, was dismissed as a trashy book by quite a few notable critics. However, the book has endured and has appeal for queer and feminist audiences. In addition to this book, Susann’s other novels have the tenderest relationships between women. According to more contemporary reports and her biographer, Jackie herself was bisexual, and despite cringing at the overuse of the derogatory word “fag” liberally sprinkled throughout this novel, the homosexual aspects are mostly accepted by the characters in the book, which for the time period, was pretty huge.

Feminist critics theorize that Valley and others of their ilk (such as Peyton Place) provide a serious critique of the position of women during this time period (mid-twentieth-century). The book discusses topics that would have been taboo at the time – abortion, adultery, and female sexuality. Valley is set a little earlier than the explosion of single working girls, but all three of the protagonists want to make something of themselves. Anne could have Allen and his riches, but she just got started on her own and she doesn’t want to throw that away. She gets inheritance after her mother dies, Henry invests her money wisely, and she is very wealthy, and yet, she still insists on working. While Neely says that she would marry someone like Allen and give up her career, once she makes it big, that view does a 180. Jennifer reinvents herself, shaving a few years off her age and taking a stage name, in order to have a shot at being a someone, rather than no one.

And while each of these women do become successful, the patriarchal system still looms largely over their lives – male directors, male studio heads, male doctors, male agents. Looks become the only currency, as Naomi Wolf wrote in The Beauty Myth, published in 1991. Once you are no longer young and beautiful, you literally fall out of the picture – as Neely discovers when she gains too much weight and is taken off the picture by the studio head.

According to Susann’s editor, there was some pressure for her to change the ending of Valley of the Dolls, but she refused, opting instead to tell it like it is: I’m not going to put a fucking happy ending on this book. That’s not the way life works for these people. These are people who have bad lives, whose lives are screwed up by pills and the kind of pressure that show business puts on them, by the buying and selling of ‘meat’ in the world they live in. It does this to them.”

Well, that’s the show. Please like and subscribe. The Forgotten Library is on most major podcast aggregators. There’s a twitter account at forgottenlibra1. A Facebook fan page also exists, as well as a website at http://bit.ly/4gotlib Until next time, I’m Nikki Gee, your intrepid library haunter.

Source list:

Collins, A. (2000). Once was never enough. Vanity Fair. Accessed via https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/01/jacqueline-susann-valley-of-the-dolls-books

Feil, K. (2017). Scandal, critical gossip, and queer failure: Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls, and star biography. Celebrity Studies, 8:4, 544-560, DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2017.1370829

Kasendorf, M. (August 12, 1973). Raven-haired, deeply tanned, and radiant: Jackie Susann picks up the marbles. The New York Times, accessed via https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/12/archives/jackie-susann-picks-up-the-marbles-ravenhaired-deeply-tanned-and.html

Knowles, C. (2016). Working Girls: Femininity and Entrapment in Peyton Place and Valley of the Dolls. Women: A Cultural Review, 27:1, 62-78, DOI:10.1080/09574042.2015.1122486

Leorne, A. (2018). No happy endings: celebrating Jacqueline’s Susann’s centenary. The 405. Accessed via https://www.thefourohfive.com/culture/article/no-happy-endings-celebrating-jacqueline-susann-s-centenary-153

O’Neill, A. (1997). The Original Valley Girl. People, 48:17. Accessed via https://people.com/archive/the-original-valley-girl-vol-48-no-17/