This is a beautifully written story about old Hollywood style and glamour and the people who made it that way.  The author did a great job combining fiction and history.  The main character is Mary Pickford the first movie star to be in silent films.  She had a long term friendship with Francis Marion who wrote screenplays for her.  This is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys this genre.

It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone’s lips these days is “flickers”—the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you’ll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all.

    In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title “America’s Sweetheart.” The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution.

    But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender—and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world’s highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered.

 

My Thoughts: In the beginning of The Girls in the Picture, we meet Frances Marion. It is 1969, and she is reflecting on the past. She is about to visit Mary Pickford again after an estrangement of many years. I liked starting at “the end,” and then I wanted to know more about the journey.

What a journey it is! Mary is already acting when she and Frances meet, and as their bond grows, Mary pulls her in by persuading her to write scenarios for her, as she admires her writing style. Their team work begins in the era of silent movies. Slowly they become a brilliant duo, and almost from the beginning, they enjoy personal time together, too.

But the men in the industry and in their lives slowly pull them apart, and when “talkies” come along, everything changes for Mary. She doesn’t quite know how to flow with the new style, and other issues are interfering in her ability to act, too.

The journey plodded for me…and then, suddenly, as we come to the end, the intensity builds and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I would have loved the book more if the middle hadn’t sagged for me. However, I did like learning more about the Old Hollywood era, and the author’s writing style kept me engaged. 4 stars.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley

I loved this book!  The writing was breezy and fun but the story is what really shines. Great tale of Hollywood and the beginning of the movie industry. And of course the real point of the book is the friendship between Fran and Mary. I really felt that I knew them after reading this. And despite having lived so long ago they seemed so relevant thanks to the author’s writing. A winner of a book. My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC.

Pretty much from the first page I was engrossed in this novel and didn't want to put it down! Since I started reading just before Christmas, I couldn't sit and veg on it like I wanted, but as soon as I was able to do so, I did. "Old Hollywood" has always intrigued me, and this book was particularly interesting as it started with the start of "moving pictures," went clear through the silent era and on to the beginning of the "talkies." The two main characters, Frances Marion and Mary Pickford,were both names I had heard of but not much more than that. I was enthralled with their story, their friendship, careers, and love lives. To see how time changes us, for good or bad, whether we see it or not in ourselves. It was a moving story, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading it. I also admit I spent quite a bit of time after reading it looking up various names sprinkled throughout the book on Google.com and Wikipedia. Highly recommended!

Melanie Benjamin has become one of my favorite writers, as she explores and writes about special women in history who aren't as well known as they should be. She has a gift for making the reader truly be a part of the stories she tells. 

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Melanie Benjamin, and Random House-Ballantine Publishers for an ARC to read and honestly review**

This is a novel I will be recommending to everyone. Historical fiction, The Girls in the Picture is a book for everyone who has an interest in the evolution of film and of women trying to be taken seriously in the workplace.

Frances doesn't want to be an actress, but she wants to be a part of the movies, and she finds her niche as a "scenarist" during the era of silent films, when the "flickers" were considered a low form of entertainment and certainly not an art form. She becomes great friends with Mary, who has been on the stage taking care of the rest of her family since she was just eight years old. Mary comes to the flickers because of the money. The two women are at the forefront of a burgeoning industry, which means becoming the first movie stars with rabid fans.

The story covers the challenges of the casting couch for female actresses. Women can't take time off for children--men don't have that worry and can have all the kids they want. All the Harvey Weinstein-esque terrible sexual behavior existed then, but perhaps worse was that women's ideas were also belittled. 

Marriage, life, and careers strain their friendship. The Girls in the Picture is a masterfully written novel about the personal and professional bonds of women during a fascinating time in history. 

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book, which RELEASES JAN 16, 2018.

3.5 stars.

About a century ago, actress Mary Pickford and scenarist Frances Marion were best friends as their young careers were just taking off.  Together, they forged new paths for women in their industry, with Mary forming United Artist's studio with husband Douglas Fairbanks, and Frances being the best and highest paid female screenwriter.  With today's spotlight on Hollywood's  so-called casting couch, this story was quite timely in detailing how that term started, when these two women were in their thirties, their careers winding down.  Despite the strides made by these women, men still held the power and got away with pinching and feeling up whatever female body parts they desired.  Actresses who had babies, even those who were  married, risked outrage from their fans, while actors and studio heads could sire a dozen or more children with no such risks.

Told in alternating chapters from each of the women's points of view, the book was certainly interesting, but not in a "can't wait to get back to that book" way.  It is honest and forthcoming, which makes for a likeable historical fiction tale.  It tells of two friends who grew estranged for different reasons, but were together courageous pioneers in their fields and impacted the film industry just as much as any of the studio heads of their time.  Unfortunately, I thought it a bit repetitive and on the longish side.  Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy.

5 epic, huggable, flickering stars to The Girls in the Picture ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Before reading this book, what I knew about Mary Pickford, America’s Sweetheart, was vague. I knew even less about her best friend and prolific screenwriter, Frances Marion. As I read this, I kept thinking this book is epic. An epic read, to me, is fully enveloping, engrossing, unputdownable, thorough, perfectly written. I can’t imagine two more fully-developed and well-crafted “characters” than Mary and Frances, and it’s a bonus that they were based on real life people and heaps of research carried out by the author. 

Just as I knew little of Pickford and Marion, apparently, I knew even less about these early days of Hollywood. The silent flickers, Charlie Chaplin, the first movies, the first talkies, and the founding of major film studios. I love learning new things while I read, which is why historical fiction continues to be a favorite genre of mine. These things were just the cherry on top of the cake because the heart of the story was the ever-evolving, endearingly relatable, and complex friendship between Mary and Frances. Anyone who has had a lifelong friend will be able to relate to at least some of the waxing and waning, affection and strife, that the two experienced. 

An important message was the role of women, especially strong, trailblazing women, in early Hollywood, as well as during World War I. It was interesting to read this book just after another WWI book (Last Christmas in Paris), which also featured a female journalist and war correspondent. It was also fascinating to read about Hollywood and the US during that war to get a different perspective from England and France who had no choice but to be fully immersed in the war from its inception. 

If you are a fan of historical fiction, especially involving early Hollywood, this is an absolute must-read. Fabulous book! 

I happen to have all of Melanie Benjamin’s backlist purchased previously and somehow languishing unread. After finishing this book, I’ll be making sure I carve out time to read each of her other books. I’m hoping for some more epic historical reads! 

Thanks to Melanie Benjamin, Random House/Delacorte Press, and Netgalley, for the complimentary ARC. 

The Girls in the Picture releases on January 16, 2018.

I have always been fascinated with "old Hollywood" and absolutely loved this book!

My Review of "The Girls in the Picture" by Melanie Benjamin, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, January 2018

I enjoyed reading "The Girls in the Picture" by Melanie Benjamin. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, and Women's Fiction. This is a story that starts in 1914 when silent movies were so important. This is also a novel that discusses friendships and the lifestyle in Hollywood.

Melanie Benjamin gives us a front row seat as she discusses the years in Hollywood as movies go from silent to talking, and the history of the Producers, Writers, Actors and Actresses and the Big Film Companies. Essentially as film producing gets more technical it seems to be a man's world. In this novel , the blurb says " there are cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino and Lillian Gish. The Girls in the Picture is, at heart, a story of friendship and  forgiveness." Other actors and actresses makes cameo appearances as well. 

The author describes the two main characters Frances Marion, and actress Mary Pickford, or "America's Sweetheart" as complicated and complex. Mary Pickford's husband Douglas Fairbanks is discussed as well. Both Mary and Frances are ambitious, and aggressive in pursuit of the Hollywood dream. Mary becomes the famous actress commanding an  expensive salary, and Frances, a screen-writer, one of the most highly paid one in the industry. Eventually Mary becomes a partner in her own film studio. Both are friends and seem at times to be co-dependent on each other, and at other times seem to be competitive. This is a man's industry, and it is difficult for women to make their own path.

Of course Hollywood is known for drama, and the lifestyle causes disagreements, jealousy, blame  disappointment and heartbreak. This story also takes place during World War One,where Frances Marion goes hoping to get a story about women and war, and facing danger every step of the way.

I would recommend this novel for those reader that are interested in the "Glitz" and "Glimmer" of Hollywood  Production, Actors, Actresses and the industry itself. I received An Advanced Reading Copy for my honest review.

Two women trying to make a name for themselves in the entertainment business back in the early 1900's. Their struggles in a predominantly male industry, in love, and in relationships in general. 

I thought this was an interesting look at the business especially with the #metoo campaign currently going on. This really wasn't my genre of book though and I really just couldn't get into it enough to keep going. Unfortunately I did not finish this book due to my preference but I do think the book was well writing I just need more suspense and mystery.

This is a fictionalized account of the careers and friendship of Mary Pickford and Frances Marion, pioneering women in Hollywood. Benjamin did a good job of encapsulating the history of film from the silent movies through the rise of talkies and the big studio era, highlighting the obstacles encountered by successful women.  

I enjoyed Benjamin’s prior novels, especially The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb and The Aviator’s Wife.  I thought this work a bit cloying, but still it made for an interesting and entertaining read.

I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a most enjoyable read! The characters of Mary Pickford and Frances Marion were fascinating - both came off as real people, and their actions and motivations worked for me.  The entire era was a fascinating one, as the movie industry was taking off, and seeing it through the eyes of these two very strong and talented women was a treat.

At first, reading some of their conversations, I thought it was somewhat anachronistic - the fact that they openly discussed wanting something more than traditional female roles, the fact that they were ambitious and somewhat driven.  But, the reality is that they DID achieve beyond any traditional female roles, and it was clear that they did this on their own initiative, not as the tools of men in their lives.  Hey, in their early days, even their financial manager was a woman, Mary's mother.  And, realistically, a woman who was ambitious and powerful at that time even more needed to be strong and not too worried about traditional roles.

In addition to the personal lives, the early development of the movie industry was fascinating, particularly learning about the formation of United Artists.  I knew very little about all this, and enjoyed learning about it.  It was also interesting reading about the impact that the switch to "talkies" had on the industry.

And, in today's world, the account of the sexual harassment routinely suffered by women in the industry certainly sounded familiar!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I had the easiest time relating to Fran (as, I'm sure, was the point), but the other important characters were all interesting, even when they were not portrayed as particularly sympathetic.  Ms. Benjamin did a wonderful job of adding conversation, motivation, etc. to the historical facts, so that it all made sense - but most important, it was a good read!

My review will be posted on goodreads (page linked to my NetGalley account) and my fb page (link at beginning of review) on Dec 17, 2017.

Read this and my other reviews at:
https://www.facebook.com/ghostwriterreviews/
What a delightful insight to a bygone era of Hollywood! Before reading this book, I honestly didn't think much of the "silent film" era and how Hollywood got it's start. It did start a little slow, and sometimes Mary acting like the little girl she was portraying than the young woman/adult she was, but I still enjoyed this book start to finish. And i love the how the title is brought full circle, or would it be how the book came to be titled?? at the end. The cover is perfect in my opinion as well. Some might not like it as much because the girls don't really resemble the real people, but one is blonde and one is black haired and even how they are posed can allude to the story. But maybe I'm just overthinking. All in all, I loved this book and recommend it to anyone that likes this genre or would like to try it for the first time.

Wonderful book, before my time but very interesting because of today's NEWS.!  the author very much makes you see how times were in the 1920's and earlier.  As a women I see how much we've gained but still are treated as second class,  How far there is yet to go!

This was a well written book but rather slow.  Definitely not a page turner but more of a well researched history of Mary Pickford and Francis Marion as the movie business evolves but also as women emerged from being beautiful objects to be pampered but rather disrespected for their courage and intellect.   I thought it interesting but dull at times early on.  Perhaps I have become jaded by some of the recent books that I have read and reviewed where you look at the clock and sadly note is’s super late but you hate to put it down  and come back to the real world.  I think once the book leaves the world of Hollywood and enter the horrors of World War One in France, the book becomes much better.  It looks at the horrors of this rapidly changing means of warfare more from a woman’s perspective and speaks of the horrors the local people must have felt, seen and suffered through.  You could almost smell the graveyards of the trenches with the rats trying to eat the bodies of the dead.  The smell of gangrene, unwashed bodies, trenchfoot all seemed real.  The sight of a single child’s shoe peaking out from the rubble was an especially powerful reminder of the realities of war not just for the soldiers fighting but for the people unfortunate to have made a war zone their home. These were powerful images and very well drawn.  I found I warmed to this book.  It was interesting, clearly well written.  Francis Marion was the first American woman to cross into Germany as the tides of war changed.  She was there to film the war from a woman’s perspective but also as a successful screen writer, to learn how to tell this story with honesty and reality.  The world of the movie was rapidly changing from short rather simplistic stories to tales of truth and to have the ability to move people’s minds and hearts.  

Surprisingly the history of sexual harassment and the casting couch was an issue even back over 100 years ago.  Even a scene with the US President Wilson, a truly taciturn man, had a scene with him pinching a woman on her behind.  For me that alone made this a more timely read than I would have expected.  Women were subjected to humiliation and sexual exploitation even then.  A producer or money man simply presumed that sex was his for the asking and a woman would simply not be hired if she refused or objected.  Mary Pickford learned pretty early how to get what she wanted because she realized what the audience wanted and she gave it to them.  She surrounded herself with quality actors, directors and most importantly, Francis Marion, one of the first Hollywood writers to understand the importance of character development, plot and the importance of real feelings coming across the screen.  Pickford created magic and she learned that if she threatened to leave the men controlling the business early on, they would yield to her demands.  She was smart and a terrific business woman who came to understand her own power in a man’s world.

Not a quick read but well done and interesting.

This excellent fiction based on fact novel about the friendship and co-dependency that colored the lives of Mary Pickford (Gladys Smith), actress,  and Frances Marion, scriptwriter, from the birth of moving pictures in their 20's until they were in their 70's is an excellent eye on the world of film.  These 'two girls' fought hard to make their place in pictures, leading the way for women into the male citadel that was the infant film industry.  The Girls in the Picture is an interesting and very telling look the the costs both women paid for breaking that glass ceiling.  A great deal of serious research went into the telling of this tale, and Melanie Benjamin shares it with us in a way that is completely captivating.  I did not want to put this story down even to the very end.  

My absolute favorite part was the actual public premier of Poor Little Rich Girl, after the moguls had  castigated the ladies  and pulled their privileged final editing rights from their contracts for adding a bit of 'slap-dash' to the film.  

And it would have been very very hard to fault Mary Pickford for her life choices.  She was sole support for her mother and siblings from the age of eight, when her father died.  Her fears that her public would turn on her if she grew up were very real.  The only 'childhood' she experienced was on the movie set where she played a child until she was in her late 20's.  Nor can you find fault with Frances, for scripting those childhood years into the screenplays for Mary to bring to the screen. I felt Frances was the only true friend Mary had for many years. Both women paid a very high price for 'equality' in Hollywoodland.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel based on fact from Netgalley, Melanie Benjamin, and Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

2.5 but cannot round up.

I really thought I would like this book--much more. I am a fan of historical fiction. And I enjoyed Benjamin's The Swans of Fifth Avenue. I am a movie buff. So I was poised to enjoy this read. Not so much. In fact, I was bored. Acclaimed? Not by me.

Nonetheless, kudos to Ms Benjamin for her extensive research. 

The scenario:
"An intimate portrait of the close friendship and powerful creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female superstars: Frances Marion and Mary Pickford.... This is a novel about power: the power of women during the exhilarating early years of Hollywood, and the power of forgiveness. It’s also about the imbalance of power, then and now, and the sacrifices and compromises women must make in order to succeed. And at its heart, it’s a novel about the power of female friendship."

I JUST DIDNT CARE. AND FOR FAR TOO LONG; a bit more judicious editing should have been in order.

Occasionally a glimmer of hope that my interest would be sustained, but sadly not.

Note: I thought the book timely and topical because there certainly was a #me too element.

Sometimes the language turned me against it.

"... just for the regular assurance of the touch of a man's hard, warm body, his coiled muscles, thick hair to grab onto, rough, unshaven cheekes like a brand on my flesh."

and

"... she reluctantly felt herself stirring, felt herself rising up to meet him, her insides thawing until they started to melt, in a trickle, between her legs..."

But--contrasted with a few brief words that I quite liked: "I had an epic nigiht this morning."

Whatever.

This book just didnt do it for me. Considering some of the raves, perhaps one should give it a try and see for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review this book. My honest opinion follows.

Mary Pickford and Frances Marion were the "It Girls" of Hollywood a century ago. Staring in silent movies they helped build and shape the industry that is so familiar today but so fresh and uncharted when they began their work in southern California so long ago.

This historical fiction tale follows the intertwined lives of Mary and Frances - one a beloved starlet, the other a notorious writer. They were best friends, women who came from nothing and built a fortune. They grow into adulthood together, reach fame together, and struggle to maintain their friendship. This sweeping story may seem to jump from point to point at times but the lives of Mary and Frances were fully lived and not easy to encompass in one book. Readers shouldn't expect full biographies but rather an E! True Hollywood Story type of overview.

This book may be about two women who were in their prime a hundred years ago but all they endured will seem current and relative still today. Scandals in Hollywood are taking over today's headlines, and this story shows the treatment of women in the movie industry is nothing new. Fans of historical fiction, movie history, or strong female characters won't want to miss this book.

Melanie Benjamin's newest book, The Girls in the Picture, tells the story of two women whose lives I knew terribly little about. In fact, while I was familiar with Mary Pickford, I don't know that I'd ever heard of Frances Marion, which is just shameful now that I know the contributions she made to early film writing and film making. Truly, I feel a little sad that it took until reading this book for me to realize how involved and prevalent women were in the early days of Hollywood. 
The story is told from the perspectives of both Fran and Mary, and follows them through their decades of movie-making. It doesn't shy away from their difficulties- Mary's alcoholism and family problems, Fran's marriages and service in World War I, the advent of "talkies"- and by doing such manages to create two women who come across vividly on the page. Neither woman had a straight, uninhibited shot to the top, and both worked hard and were passionate about their art. Outside of their love for filmmaking, these two women were such polar opposites that it seems wondrous that they could have been such good friends, but with how passionate they were about movies, perhaps that was enough to solidify their bond. 
While this is a book of historical fiction, it also demonstrates the challenges women have faced both historically and today in their fight to be recognized for their contributions to their industries, and in how difficult it is to be a woman who wants to put her career first and still have a full life outside that career. Fran and Mary struggle to maintain their hold on careers and relationships, their friendships, and to remain relavent in an industry that they saw through so many changes.

The Girls in the Picture is, without doubt,  one of the best books I have read. The characters are fascinating as well as the depiction of the silent film era. As a fan of silent films, my interest has been piqued to read more about the stars and films who were a part of the early movie industry.  A must read.