Fiction books about old hollywood

See more ideas about novels, hollywood and garden of allah. These lists are a bit different from the bucket list book series i put together last year. A novel about a famous auteur who decides to make a bigbudget arthouse porn. From gritty crime noir to fictional celeb biographies, these books set in old hollywood tell stories about love, sex, money, fame, and corruption. Obtain your favorite teen fiction books at much cheaper prices than other booksellers. This old hollywood story calls to mind the rise of many golden age actresses. Naturally, this sort of drama makes old hollywood the perfect setting for a novel. The day of the locust by nathanael west 1939 west turns a jaundiced eye on hollywood in this book, and the result is nasty. Heres a list of 25 cantmiss books, both fiction and nonfiction, broken down into a few categories and with two important distinctions. Leslie howard and norma shearer in romeo and juliet george cukor, old hollywood movies. Scan this list of the most widely held science fiction books and movies in libraries for your favorites, then blast off to your local library to check them out. The new york times best sellers may 24, 2020 authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre. On the third anniversary of longworths beloved podcast, the old hollywood historian remembers the. Among other things, this meant that actors signed longterm contracts with one studio.

My first book, the glamorous dead, is available from kensington books. Filled with many classic hollywood icons, this is a portrait of a beloved. A novel of goldenera hollywood by martin turnbull and. Anne helen petersen adeptly tells the tales of how the lives of 16 different stars of old hollywood were consumed by the public. It is a spectacle in itself, and has therefore been the subject of many books and films, fiction, nonfiction and hybrids of the two, a place that generates its. In 1994, susan orlean published after the party, a new. Best books on old hollywood best books fiction or nonfiction that feature pre1960s hollywood. Its disorienting to read a book about a time before celebrity news and gossip became many americans primary cultural engagement.

But life waits for no movie marathon, so you, like me, might be looking for some stories about the glitz, glamour and undeniable drama of old hollywood in the form of historical fiction novels. But upon further inspection, the novel is actually a fascinating and at. If you like barbara eppich strunas first two books in this series, youll love this one. Grant to jean harlowe for reads that are both obsessionworthy and historical fiction. Hollywood shimmers with the illusion of politics and the politics of illusion, wrote the chicago suntimes. Hollywood jungle a still from the 1949 film tarzans magic fountain showing brenda joyce as jane, lex barker as tarzan and cheeta in another uncredited. If youre new to her work, get started with the old cape hollywood secret. My adventures in hollywood and the secret sex lives of the stars is a tellall book about the sex lives of hollywood stars from the late 1940s to the early 1980s by scotty bowers, with lionel friedberg as a contributing author. Bowers makes many claims about the sex lives of many people, most of whom were associated with the hollywood movie industry during that period. Books to read if you loved once upon a time in hollywood.

A lover of old movies, i often watch turner classic movies. And beautifully, despite overlap, they are all different. One display case is devoted to general books about the movies including criticism and commentary, guide books for the aspiring actor or screenwriter, as well as fiction showing both the. When most people think of old hollywood, they envision the golden age of the silver screen. Whether or not you consider yourself a fan of historical fiction, youve heard the names hilary mantel, eleanor catton, anthony doerr and kristin hannah repeatedly over recent years. Grab yourself a gin rickey and kick back with these irresistible. Hollywood is often depicted as a sparkling, magical place, but the best hollywood stories typically reveal a more multifaceted reality. Plenty of folks have lists of the 100 best books of all time, the 100 books you should read, and on. The golden age of hollywood was dominated by the studio system. Scott fitzgerald to joan didion, some of the greatest writers have tackled the world of l. But in the early 1900s, when hollywood was just beginning, the distance between actors and viewers was infinitely larger, and the hollywood lifestyle felt far less attainable. Martin turnbulls glittering novel transports you to a bygone era of.

Dec 06, 2017 i spent one unforgettable afternoon in the home of gene kelly when i was thirteen. If you love old hollywood gossip, put these books, films. While reading the chapters set in the old days, i could almost hear the tcm narrator describing the events of the story. Novels and nonfiction that take you into the golden era of moviemaking. However, when you remove the rosetint of nostalgia, you quickly see that. This novel spends less time actually in old hollywood, but it remains a heavy theme in the story.

From historical fiction to tellall books, find a story that will immerse you back into this world of old hollywood glamour, shocking scandals, and dark true crime. The following books offer their own take on tinseltownfrom gritty crime noir to fictional celeb biographiesto tell stories about love, sex, money, fame, and corruption. This book reclaims hollywood for a black america that has historically. Ever since, ive loved old hollywood ferociously the glamour, the scandals, the movie stars, the movies themselves, the beauty and even the brutality of a city built too fast, too big, too. Down n dirty historical fiction set against hollywoods golden age. This 2014 book by william mann is a nifty crossover for old hollywood and. Weve seen these lists before from amazon to the telegraph to time magazine and beyond. Set in a seedy milieu on the fringes of the movie industry, the. Cinema history by decade the number of books in this section grew so large that they were cut to their own page in early 2011 top of page early years, to 1920 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s since 2000.

Frankenstein, or, the modern prometheus by mary wollstonecraft shelley. Im suzanne gates, and i write historical mysteries. No longer dismissed as bodicerippers rife with anachronisms or dreary textbooks dressed up in barely discernible plots, historical fiction is gaining the respect of critics. But these men in hollywood had a vision and were creating this product that was loved by everybody of all different backgrounds. Books by raymond chandler, joyce carol oates, carrie fisher. Browse thousands of bestsellers, new releases, and classic novels from a wide range of genres, including literary fiction, mystery, thrillers, historical fiction, and romance. The seemingly glitzy era between the 1920s and 1960s, which gave us cinematic masterpieces such as gone with the wind and citizen kane, and megastars the likes of rita hayworth and humphrey bogart were in their prime. The distance between actors and viewers is what gave old hollywood a kind of glamour and secrecy surrounding it thats lacking in hollywood today. A couple of weeks ago i went to my local librarys fiction book sale. Unlike modern actors, who are free to pick and choose the roles they want to play, actors back then filmed the movies the studios wanted and had little control over their careers. Scandals of classic hollywood by anne helen petersen.