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mysterefantasy 's review for:
The Chelsea Girls
by Fiona Davis
Fiona Davis’ latest historical novel takes place both in Italy at the end of WWII and in NYC at the Chelsea Hotel. Two women meet as USO performers in Italy and bond over a tragic event involving a young German boy whose demise adversely affects both women. When they return to the States, one woman heads to Hollywood while the other returns to her mother’s home in NYC to take up her career as a Broadway actor, albeit always the stand-in and never the star.
Hazel Riley wants to tell the story of what happened in Italy and writes, over the course of a couple of years. She moves out of her mother’s house and into the Chelsea Hotel in order to finish it. With the help of an aging star, Hazel’s play is produced on Broadway. Movie star, Maxine Mead surprises Hazel and shows up unexpectedly and renews their friendship just as the McCarthy era begins and it is sweeping their way.
Davis deftly tells the story that McCarthy’s witch hunt results in fear and terrible consequences of being named by the Senator’s Committee. She creates a friendship between two very different women that survives the privations of WWII Italy, but may not survive a witch hunt by a power-hungry politician.
Davis’ main characters are well-drawn and nuanced. The reader can easily grasp how down trodden Hazel is because her mother’s full attention is on Hazel’s older brother and only rests upon Hazel after her brother is killed during the war. Her mother wants to control every aspect of Hazel’s life until Hazel finally finds the courage to leave her mother’s home. Maxine, while less fully developed, is still drawn with an understanding of the need to be tough as nails, while hiding a terrible secret, even if one is a marshmallow inside.
The author easily transports the reader to New York City in the 1950s and the excitement of Broadway and fear of McCarthyism.
If you love well-written historical novels with a twist at the end, then put this book on your to-be-read list very near the top. It’s well worth the read.
My thanks to Dutton Books and Edelweiss for an e-ARC.
Hazel Riley wants to tell the story of what happened in Italy and writes, over the course of a couple of years. She moves out of her mother’s house and into the Chelsea Hotel in order to finish it. With the help of an aging star, Hazel’s play is produced on Broadway. Movie star, Maxine Mead surprises Hazel and shows up unexpectedly and renews their friendship just as the McCarthy era begins and it is sweeping their way.
Davis deftly tells the story that McCarthy’s witch hunt results in fear and terrible consequences of being named by the Senator’s Committee. She creates a friendship between two very different women that survives the privations of WWII Italy, but may not survive a witch hunt by a power-hungry politician.
Davis’ main characters are well-drawn and nuanced. The reader can easily grasp how down trodden Hazel is because her mother’s full attention is on Hazel’s older brother and only rests upon Hazel after her brother is killed during the war. Her mother wants to control every aspect of Hazel’s life until Hazel finally finds the courage to leave her mother’s home. Maxine, while less fully developed, is still drawn with an understanding of the need to be tough as nails, while hiding a terrible secret, even if one is a marshmallow inside.
The author easily transports the reader to New York City in the 1950s and the excitement of Broadway and fear of McCarthyism.
If you love well-written historical novels with a twist at the end, then put this book on your to-be-read list very near the top. It’s well worth the read.
My thanks to Dutton Books and Edelweiss for an e-ARC.