A touch of stardust

Title:

A touch of stardust

Author:

Alcott, Kate, author.

Personal Author:

Alcott, Kate, author.

ISBN:

9781410476654

Edition:

Large print edition.

Physical Description:

471 pages (large print) ; 23 cm

Abstract:

When Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood, she never imagines she'll cross paths with fellow Hoosier Carole Lombard. The only job Julie's able to find is one in the studio publicity office of the notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick, who is busy burning through directors, writers, and money as he films Gone with the Wind. When Lombard hires her as an assistant, and invites her into the glamorous world she shares with still-married Clark Gable, Julie must to fend off the overly curious reporters, hoping to prevent details about the affair from slipping out.

Personal Subject:

Gable, Clark, 1901-1960-Fiction.

Lombard, Carole, 1908-1942-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Motion picture actors and actresses -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

Love stories.

Large type books.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Westover Hills	Large Print Book	FICTION ALCOTT	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood with dreams of becoming a screenwriter, and lands a job in the publicity office of notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick. On the set of Gone with the Wind, she has a front-row seat to two of the greatest love affairs of all time: the onscreen chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett, and the deepening lovebetween Carole and Clark. Yet things in Hollywood are never quite what they seem.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Sticking to her formula of situating imaginary characters in historical events (The Daring Ladies of Lowell, 2014, etc.), Alcott sends her feisty heroine to observe the filming of Gone With the Wind.At first, it looks as though Julie Crawford will be packing her bags to go back to Fort Wayne, Indiana; she's delayed as she hurries to the burning of Atlanta to deliver a message from the studio to David Selznick, and the producer fires her on the spot. Fortunately, Julie has caught the eye of assistant producer Andy Weinstein, who introduces her to a fellow Fort Wayne refugee: screwball comedy queen Carole Lombard, whose open affair with still-married GWTW star Clark Gable is making Selznick very nervous. Soon Julie is Lombard's personal assistant and having regular dinners with handsome, intense Andy. The fact that she's dating a Jew, Julie is well-aware, would appall her parents, who are already unhappy that she's dumped her high school sweetheart to pursue a career as a screenwriter. Alcott makes good use of her research to portray the turbulent GWTW shoot, Lombard's earthy personality and genuine love for the equally no-BS Gable, and Julie's introduction via Andy to the more intellectual side of Hollywood culture (a Herman Mankiewicz dinner party; a meeting with her idol, pioneering screenwriter Frances Marion). Julie and Andy's tender but bumpy affair is also nicely depicted. Consumed with anxiety for his grandparents in Nazi Berlin, furious when he confronts anti-Semitism in America, he plans to leave Hollywood's dream factory; he's supportive of Julie's ambitions but unsure that she's got the backbone to stand by him or to stand up to her parents about their relationship. Their ups and downs are slightly contrived, but Alcott's canny blend of Hollywood lore and a strong personal story is ultimately effective. Well-crafted commercial fiction displaying intelligence and nuance as Julie ponders Hollywood's dizzying fantasy/reality disconnect. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.