The Blue Butterfly
Book Feature - The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack
HBL Note: Are you following me on Instagram? I have a new Reels series called Frank Sinatra sings about books. I featured Leslie Johansen Nack’s THE BLUE BUTTERFLY along with the song Fly Me to the Moon, which is one of my favorites. You can watch it here (it is super short and lots of fun!) All of that to say, one of my favorite things about reading historical fiction is Googling the real-life characters afterwards (oh who am I kidding? I can rarely wait until the end of the book before I start Googling…) to see what was real and what was the product of the author’s imagination. THE BLUE BUTTERFLY includes lots of Google-able characters including Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, and Charlie Chaplin. Scroll down to read more.
Book Feature - The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack
Book Feature - The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack
From the publisher:
New York 1915, Marion Davies is a shy eighteen-year-old beauty dancing on the Broadway stage when she meets William Randolph Hearst and finds herself captivated by his riches, passion and desire to make her a movie star. Following a whirlwind courtship, she learns through trial and error to live as Hearst’s mistress when a divorce from his wife proves impossible. A baby girl is born in secret in 1919 and they agree to never acknowledge her publicly as their own. In a burgeoning Hollywood scene, she works hard making movies while living a lavish partying life that includes a secret love affair with Charlie Chaplin. In late 1937, at the height of the depression, Hearst wrestles with his debtors and failing health, when Marion loans him $1M when nobody else will. Together, they must confront the movie that threatens to invalidate all of Marion’s successes in the movie industry: Citizen Kane.
Book Feature - The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack
