Blurb
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a mesmerizing journey through the splendour of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means and what it costs to face the truth.
My review
50s screen siren, Evelyn Hugo, gets in touch with Vivant magazine with the offer of an exclusive article, only she doesn’t want any of the magazine’s experienced writers. The exclusive to Vivant will only be offered to them if Monique Grant – a journalist in the early stages of her career and with only a few pieces under her belt, including one highly acclaimed article about the importance of choosing the end point of your life and dying with dignity – will write the piece.
Vivant’s Editor in Chief is reluctant to give rookie Monique such a high-profile piece until Evelyn’s team make it clear that without Monique there will be no interview.
At their initial meetings Evelyn makes it clear that she has no intention of appearing in an article for Vivant, she wants Monique to write her biography, warts and all. She repeatedly tells Monique that by the end of her story Monique will hate her and will only learn why at the end of Evelyn’s story.
Both Evelyn and Monique are aware that Evelyn’s biography has been given a price tag of at least twelve million dollars, so why entrust it to Monique? Frankie, from Vivant, keeps messaging Monique for updates and to set up a photo shoot to accompany the piece she believes Monique is writing.
For days Monique agonises over how to handle Frankie. She is caught in the knowledge that she will lose her job once Frankie discovers her secret and that Vivant’s influence will likely put paid to another job in the industry she loves. Tied in with this is the knowledge that she cannot publish Evelyn’s biography until Evelyn has died. At seventy-nine, Evelyn appears strong, and healthy, so Monique’s can’t hazard a guess as to when she might bank any money from the biography.
Five days after beginning work with Evelyn, she has to pick up a call from Frankie and clearly some of Evelyn’s determination and self-protection has rubbed off because she negotiates deals with both Frankie and Evelyn to keep herself in full employment and everyone happy.
So, what is the denouement that Evelyn’s hinted at with such confidence? What can someone who has lived their career under a media spotlight have been able to keep under wraps? And how is Monique inextricably linked to the story of Evelyn’s life?
This book was bought for me by my daughter who is a huge fan of Taylor-Jenkins and has read all of her books. This was her favourite. I read this book in two days; it is told so well with chapter breaks that convince the reader that they will only read a couple more pages before sleep. Trust me, you won’t!
Evelyn’s seven marriages, inconceivable wealth and seventy-nine years juxtapose well alongside Monique’s life: just starting out and forced to take on the marital home after the recent breakdown of her own marriage before its first anniversary. Both women have suffered the loss of a much-loved parent in childhood and both have struggled to find where they fit into society and these similarities in their characters give them that initial spark and bond needed for involvement in such an intimate story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be raiding my daughter’s bookshelves for more Taylor-Jenkins.
About the author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the New York Times Bestselling novels Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Her novel, Daisy Jones and The Six, is now a limited series on Amazon Prime. She lives in Los Angeles.
Write on the Cusp 