Gill Paul has found a really good lane in Women’s Historical Fiction, and I love the way she chooses subjects who are largely familiar in a general sense, but seldom written about and appreciated in modern fiction.

I’ve liked some of her novels better than others, and that’s largely been dependent on how much I liked the subjects. In this case, I absolutely loved them. I’ve never read anything by Jackie Collins, and while I loved Valley of the Dolls, I’m also largely not familiar with Jacqueline Susann’s other work. This feels like a case where my taste in fiction didn’t have much to do with how I felt about the authors of that fiction, and I love that Paul is so good at humanizing women from history who we don’t know much about in a personal sense.

The fictional characters in this story were also well-crafted and likable, and served wonderfully to tie the two women together. Though I was a touch disappointed to hear that the friendship between them was fictional, I’d like to think that if the circumstances had aligned for it, Paul’s story might have been what really happened.

I’m huge on books where I had a great time reading them AND felt like I learned something. Paul’s books are perhaps more approachable in that way than most of the stuff I read that meets that goal, and I think they’re a lovely choice for those who prefer less academic novels that are still exceptionally well written and informative.

In the mid-1960s, writers Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann shook up the publishing world with their provocative books *The World Is Full of Married Men* and *Valley of the Dolls.* This book imagines a young PR genius, Nancy White, who handled publicity for both authors and became friends with them, blending fiction with real-life events from their worlds.

The story was entertaining, but it was disappointing to learn that Nancy wasn’t real and that the two women likely never met. Knowing that made me enjoy the book a bit less, but it was still a fun read.

Scandalous Women by Gill Paul

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I’m not sure if this is fiction or creative non-fiction but it tells the story of authors Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins and their rise to fame in the 1960s.

As someone who has always LOVED reading, I fell in love with women’s lit in my early 20s by reading my great aunt’s copy of “Valley of the Dolls.” Sure, I’d read my share of romance but never realized that there was more out there… legit books about women’s issues written by women… and “Scandalous Women” does a great Job telling telling their stories.

Of course, Gill Paul has taken creative liberties and will tell you this in the notes at the end. But this book is a work of art and I believe Jacqueline and Jackie would have loved it.

There are several triggers in this book: domestic violence, substance abuse, patriarchy in the 60s and all that entails..

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the review copy of Scandalous Women by Gill Paul.

Have you ever read any books by Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann? I have had their novels on my TBR forever, but I still need to read them. I know just a little about both authors and I was excited to review a new novel about them, Scandalous Women by Gill Paul.

In the 1960’s Jacqueline Susann revolutionized publishing in the United States with her new racy book, Valley of the Dolls, and her groundbreaking way to advertise it by have a cross-country book tour. Meanwhile, in London, Jackie Collins has written her own shocking novel, The World is Full of Married Men. Nancy White is an assistant editor for both and lives the type of life that is could be a story in a Jacqueline Susann or Jackie Collins novel. Will the women be able to help each other to achieve their dreams?

My thoughts on this book:
• I enjoyed this novel. It was another book that I couldn’t put down. I quickly read it and relished it.

• The book was told through alternating narratives from the viewpoint of each of the three women. I found all three storylines to be fascinating.

• I learned so much about Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins. I more than ever want to read their books. I empathized with both women. Jacqueline Susann was a fierce woman on the outside, but behind closed doors, she struggled with breast cancer and with trying to earn money to ensure that her disabled son would be able to have money to be taken care of for the rest of his life. Jackie Collins had an abusive first marriage but found love with her second husband. She was devoted to her three daughters. Both women wanted to make a name for themselves, and they dared to by writing about women who liked sex, which was unheard of in 1960s publishing.

• I enjoyed Nancy’s fictional story as well. She’s a naive newcomer to New York City that through her own grit and determination, is able to make it in the big city. She also has problems with love along the way.

• I had never really thought about modern day book tours, they are just what every author does. I did not realize that Jacqueline Susann was the first person to do this and shape the modern book tour.

• It was fascinating to me to think about how these two women “invented” a grittier type of women’s fiction.

• I liked the relationships between the three women in the novel.

• I enjoyed the historical afterword about the real history of these amazing women at the end of the novel.

Favorite quote: “I don’t approve of women’s novels being patronized by the literary establishment. We should all read whatever we want without shame.”

This book was published on August 13, 2024.

Overall, Scandalous Women is an addictive story of two powerful women authors who were able to find their own path in the 1960s. This was great historical fiction that I could not put down.

SCANDALOUS WOMEN pushes through the misogyny in publishing to take a look at what could have been the lives of Jacqueline Susann, Jackie Collins, and a wanna-be editor who allows them to cross paths. Paul brilliantly weaves together the social climate of the 1960s with the heart and emotion of being a woman who wants more than to be just a housewife.

I loved every minute spent with Jacqueline, Jackie, and Nancy. There is a relatability to these characters which caused this reader to invest in their outcomes. Paul perfectly balances all aspects of the fictional relationships between these three women. The personalities are fascinating. The moments of compassion, pain, and love were expertly depicted. And finally, the way the author showed how women were treated in the workplace during this time was impactful. It is one thing to know the backstory of women’s place in history, but it is an entirely different situation to read a scene where their contributions were blatantly ignored and grabbing someone’s butt or breasts wasn’t considered grounds to be fired.

Here is the thing. We all know who Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins are. Hopefully, you have read their books because they are more than just the sex and salacious content sprinkled into their stories. So by the author choosing them as the subject of this book, she shows just how important they were to publishing. SCANDALOUS WOMEN shows the strength of women just as much as it shows their vulnerabilities. All and all, this was one entertaining, enlightening, and engrossing rea

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was an enjoyable beach read for the summer. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the culture of the 1960s and who enjoyed Feud: Capote vs. The Swan's on FX. Gill Paul knows how to write an unputdownable thriller and I enjoyed reading about these amazing ladies from history. This book will make you nostalgic for a bygone era. I can't wait for Gill Paul's next book!!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I loved this look at how these two pioneering women helped launch the best-selling romance genre. Paul had me thinking about the 1960s and how much has changed, and how much we still have to fight for.

In Scandalous Women by Gill Paul, we are taken back to the 1960’s and brought into the world of writers Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins. Both women are trying to get their writing careers off the ground and doing so on their terms.

They are pitted against each other and struggle in their personal lives as they begin to gain success with their writing. This is written from the point of view of Nancy, a young woman who works at a Manhattan publishing company. The two women meet thanks to Nancy and begin a decades-long friendship.

I wish this was true, because the friendship was lovely and the support between the two writers was special, however, this was fictionalized. Darn! Oh well. It was fun to think about.

An enjoyable read, but my favorite part of this book was the details of the time periods.

1966, NYC: Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls hits the bookstores and she is desperate for a bestseller. It’s steamy, it’s a page-turner, but will it make the big money she needs? In London, Jackie Collins’s racy The World Is Full of Married Men launches her career. But neither author is prepared for the price they will pay for being women who dare to write about sex.

Jacqueline and Jackie are lambasted by the literary establishment, deluged with hate mail, and even condemned by feminists. In public, both women shoulder the outcry with dignity; in private, they are crumbling — particularly since they have secrets they don’t want splashed across the front pages.

1965, NYC: College graduate Nancy White is excited to take up her dream job at a Manhattan publishing house, but she could never be prepared for the rampant sexism she will encounter. While working on Valley of the Dolls, she becomes friends with Jacqueline Susann, and, after reaching out to Jackie Collins about a US deal, she is responsible for the two authors meeting.

Will the two Jackies clash as they race to top the charts? Will Nancy achieve her ambition of becoming an editor, despite all the men determined to hold her back? Three women struggle to succeed in a man’s world, while desperately trying to protect those they love the most.

I found myself chuckling at the wit of these female characters and in awe of their strong-will. These women stood against the criticism, hate mail, and misogyny to share their stories with other women of the time. Scandalous Women is a relevant piece in current literature that is worth the read. I recommend this especially to those who loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and believe it belongs in the same space.

Full review is posted on the blog dandelionlit.com

I really enjoyed this. I was prepared to think it was fine. Gill P typically writes a tougher historical fiction, but this one (while tough at times) was so compelling. It's the loosely fictional story of two women who were the founding women in sexy books. Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins both wrote books that were steamy and fast and got massive amounts of push back for it. They were ground breakers who paved the way for the books we love to read today. I loved the feminist themes in all areas. I loved how they navigated relationships and their careers. I just really enjoyed it.

This was an interesting read. This was a work of historical fiction about authors Jacqueline Susann, Jackie Collins and a young woman Nancy, just starting out in the publishing world. I learned about their work, considered racy for the time. and how they created a market for women's books that were not simply romances. The women were looked down upon and had an uphill battle with publishers (as did Nancy) because the decision makers were men and also by the burgeoning feminist movement, as setting it back, although they saw things differently. The book had the perspectives of all three women as narrators. I liked the different perspectives. Occasionally, it lapsed into either being a bit informational or being too much about the women's personal lives (also a large part of the book). All in all, it was a satisfying read. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which is wholely my own.

“Boss” women in the city ✅
Overcoming adversity ✅
New York Times best selling author✅
Unpredictable ✅
Scandalous✅

Scandalous Women is all about three women, Jackie, Jacqueline( the Jackie’s) and Nancy finding their own throughout the 60s and 70s. Follow these women as they find themselves, navigate hard times, and figure out how to be a “Boss” when it was hard for women to be one.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!

Scandalous Women by Gill Paul ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Why I Chose It: I love stories about ‘controversial’ women.

I’m not sure when I got swept up in this story, but I absolutely found myself in the end really invested in each of our POVs lives. At first, I found myself thinking there were a lot of surface level descriptions and nothing that really felt three-dimensional. I’m not sure when that changed, but by the end, all the little things added up and created full characters for me.

The three different POVs worked well. Admittedly, in the beginning I did struggle a bit with Jacqueline and Jackie because of the names. However, as I became more pulled in, it was no longer a problem. The pace was nice, and while it was more of a character-driven novel, the plot worked and ended very nicely.

Sometimes with historical fiction, it’s hard to tell what was real or fictionalized. The author added a note at the end that explained her creative liberties, which I found very helpful.

Fans of stories about females navigating male-dominated worlds, female friendships, and women behaving outside of societal norms will enjoy this one!

Thanks to William Morrow for the advanced copy of Scandalous Women by Gill Paul. This is a historical novel based on two international bestsellers Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins and their rise to fame around their scandalous novels in the 1960s.

I always enjoy Gill Paul's novels about groundbreaking women that we don't hear enough about but I struggle sometimes that they are fictional but based on some parts of the person's life. So I wish they stuck to more of the reality of their lives. That's my only disclaimer because I truly enjoyed this book but as I read I'm like what's true and what's fictional, and it took me away a little. I hated the author's note that so many characters were fictional and that the two Jackies didn't have this beautiful friendship.

If I read this as a novel and didn't know that both Jackies were real this was such a great story! I loved Nancy the editorial assistant and how much the women all fought for their books and how strong they were. Especially for books with sex in them in the 1960s. Gill Paul is such a great storyteller that I will always read her books!

This is a unique novel about Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann, two dynamic, groundbreaking writers renowned for their scandalous and controversial novels, and the beleaguered young editorial assistant who introduces them.

To say I love this book is an understatement. This book hit me at just the right time and just the right place. But the nostalgia this brought back to me is amazing. I remember reading Jackie Collins when I was a young girl in high school. (GASP!) And there was so much in this book that I did not know.

Same with Jacqueline Susann. I was late to the game reading her. And I certainly did not know much about her life. And I did feel that this book had more about her than it did Jackie.

These two ladies changed the way women were viewed in publishing…no doubt! Not without trauma..but they each handled it in their own way.

Then there is Nancy. Nancy is just a young girl trying to break into the publishing field as an editor. Oh the stuff she goes through!

Need an all around good tale that will open your eyes…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Wow! This book took me back in time. My Mom had Jackie’s and Jacqueline’s books in her room. I used to sneak-read them when she went out at night - they were shocking and fabulous. After reading Scandalous Women - I can really appreciate these books even more than I was able to at the time. These women had the kind of bad-assery that paved the way for many of the female authors we enjoy today. I am so glad NetGalley gave me the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I gobbled this book up over a weekend. It was fantastic.

Seeing the words "Mad Men meets the world of publishing" to describe SCANDALOUS WOMEN was all it took for me to request it right away! It definitely did not disappoint. Set primarily in Manhattan and London in the 60s and 70s, the story alternates between three equally gripping POVs—those of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins during their rise to fame as authors, as well as the fictional Nancy, a newcomer to NYC looking to break into the publishing industry, who later develops life-changing relationships with both Jackies along the way. Gill Paul does a fantastic job of fleshing out these characters and getting readers invested in their story. She doesn't shy away from depicting how misogynistic the publishing world was at the time, how both Jackies were taken less seriously for wanting to write books that catered to women, and how both they and Nancy faced harassment while they were working to succeed in a male-dominated industry. Paul also shines in developing the characters' personal lives, showing the triumphs and struggles they faced outside of work, as well as their various romances, brushes with drama, and everything in between. I loved seeing the women support each other throughout it all, and was surprised to read that Susann and Collins had actually never been close friends in real life! It was so interesting to read the historical context for the story and how the author blended facts with fiction in such an imaginative way.

Overall, I would highly recommend SCANDALOUS WOMEN, particularly for anyone who loves books about books, period pieces set in the 60s, and stories about strong, successful women! Out of the Jackies' books, I've only read (and loved) VALLEY OF THE DOLLS so far, but I'm especially looking forward to diving into their backlists now. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

Thrilled as I am to be spoiled for choice when it comes to books to read, it’s a sad reality of the wide range of novels avalilable today that I know who Jaqueline Susann and Jackie Collins are, but have never had a chance to read their work. But now, with the release of Gill Paul’s Scandalous Women, more than ever I feel the need - and the urge - to finally take the plunge.

he novel takes the stories of these two women, and their very real rise to fame amidst the misogyny and literary snobbery of the 1960s, and weaves them together, entwining them also with the story of Nancy, a young woman with editorial ambitions facing the same societal hurdles as the two writers.

The novel charts their three stories, weaving them together and infusing them with the kinds of drama found in Susann and Collins books. Like those books as well, it also takes an unflinching view of what life and society was like at the time for women who stepped outside the norm of good behaviour or acceptable ambition. Scandalous Women is perfect for those who remember the scandalous history, those who are familiar with the authors and their work, and those who are learning about the depths of these women for the first time. It is hilarious, heartbreaking, and romantic all in one, and yes, as the title suggests it’s also just a little scandalous.

Scandalous Women is out August 13. Special thank you to William Morrow for the advance copy for review purposes.

I almost didn't read this book because I've never read a Jackie Collins or Jacqueline Susann novel. This book was really good and did a great job showing how terrible the book publishing world was for women in the 1960's and 1970's and how much these women changed that. It was a bit disappointing at the end to find out that this was more fictionalized than most historical fiction books but I'm still glad that I read it

I can always count on Gill Paul to deliver a top notchbook!
She does it again with a novel pairing Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins as trailblazing authors of “raunch” during the 1960s.
I’m familiar with both authors but haven’t read any of their books. I did a fair amount of looking up their backstories as I read the book.
I thought, as usual, Paul captured their voices very well. Susann seemed very giving and sympathetic and Collins was nothing like how the media usually portrayed her.
Both women shared a similar demise, sadly.
It’s a great slice of fiction about 2 women who carved their pens on changing women’s fiction into the monolithic genre it has become today!