A Woman of Integrity

Enjoyed this, a refreshing change for me. This is the story of Laura and Georgie, two woman born in different eras, never met, both actresses and how one comes to tell the story of the other. Good plot and three dimensional characters which you can't help but like. Definitely worth a read.

Laura the aging British actress is single, stalled in her career, and dumped by her Hollywood agent. Her triumphant return to the stage is built upon the story Laura discovers, of Georgina Hepburn: a silent film star who finds true love as a wartime pilot, and ultimately success as a photographer.

At first I wondered how in the world could this book not be written by a British actress or a female pilot photographer, but when I found out the author is a Scottish man with a law degree my head fell off! The big reveal and the little reveal at the very end are written beautifully and endearingly, but were not what hooked me - that would be the incredible eye to details that enable the reader to experience life on stage, or dining with a millionaire, or being in love on a camel.

I love the strength of character written into so many of the women in this story, not just the titular one but even the silly drunk and cheating ones, giving proof to the incredible nature of sisterhood and BFFness.

5 Stars

Georgie Hepburn was a silent film star who made a tough choice and lost it all. Or perhaps it only seems so for she had raised herself above all that and succeeded at a new life and had many new adventures.

Laura Scott is a contemporary woman, also a film actress who is reaching the end of her career and lamenting that life might just be over. But, as she learns about herself, she might just be as great a woman of integrity as her heroine, Georgie Hepburn.

The book goes back and forth between Georgie’s memoirs and Laura’s life in the here and now.

Laura has a chance at starring in a new movie about Georgie, but she must trade for the opportunity to do so. She learns just what she will do, or must do, to realize her dreams. She learns the meaning of negotiation and that not all seemingly loathsome tasks need be quite so loathsome.

This is a book about two remarkable women. Both of them seem to be at the end of their roads when they find they have more strength and integrity than they knew. Their resiliency and determination are remarkable in that they both believe themselves to be rather ordinary, but are able to pull themselves together to make a difference not only in their own lives, but in the lives of others.

I want to thank Netgalley and Freight Books for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read.

British film star, Laura Scott's is the other side of fifty and the last film role she had was for the voice of an animated fish. She’s become financially embarrassed and doesn’t want to reduce herself further and head into a sitcom position like her friend. So when an American producer says he wants her for a play about one of her favourite stars of the silent screen, things look like they are turning around. However, she soon realises, there’s more to integrity than simply drawing a line between your heart and your art.

I never like to give plot lines away and I won’t here. It’s enough to say, this story is about two actresses, one of which intends to play the other in a play and we get to read the manuscript of the latter’s autobiography interspersed throughout the tale. It’s the manuscript she’ll get hold of later on after dealing with a little dishonesty, treachery and soul searching along the way.

I don’t think it needs pointing out that it’s a book about two women written by a man, but I do point it out because I think he did a surprisingly good job. If I’d guessed the author’s gender I would have said female because it is insightful and often explicit in a way you’d expect an Alice Munro story to be.

Laura Scott has integrity, so did Georgie Hepburn and both of them have to wrestle with maintaining it. The story is fluid and enjoyable and kept me reading. My only qualm with the story would be that I was expecting a big reveal, but I don’t feel like this was delivered. The way the two stories run parallel together gives you the impression that at some point a fusion will occur, but it doesn’t. Of course, it doesn’t, it’s a sensible British story not some piece of Hollywood Tomfoolery!

Ultimately, this story already has that tingly, BBC one, lottery funded, BAFTA winning actresses kind of feel to it. It’s very British, set in North London and you can hear Emma Thompson’s voice coming off the pages. I closed the book with a pleasant sigh. Well, that was rather nice...

I really like this book. The story is narrated by two women, one in the past, one in the present. The present day lady is very affected by the life of the other one and actually has a lot of parallels in their life styles. The characters are very well developed and the story is well written as well as having a surprise ending. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys literary fiction.

Georgie Hepburn was born in 1900. She aged with the century. Her father died in an aviation accident in the Great War. She was a silent movie star who would not make the change to talkies due to her integrity. She went on to be an aviator like her father, starting before WWII but then worked in the ATA during the war. Then went on to be an acclaimed photographer for most of the rest of her life.

Laura Scott is an actress on the worng side of 50 with no where to go with her career. She has an opportunity to play Georgie Hepburn who she admired from the time she was in her teens. Georgie's estate is controlled by her grand nephew and Laura has to convince Quinton to share the amazing life of Georgie.

This is a great book about how Laura tries to keep the integrity Georgie had as she goes about the process. A great story.

Movie stardom is fleeting, especially for women over fifty. Laura Scott has experienced this first hand, feeling that her life is now devoid of meaning. She dreads the loss of fame and fortune and fears a new "normal" of insignificant bit parts. Invited to a dinner party hosted by her rich friend and fellow actress, Lady Caroline Hoffman, Laura is introduced to documentary film producer Sal Yerkshaw. Sal envisions a one woman show about silent screen star Georgina Hepburn and a resultant documentary. He approaches Laura offering her the chance to partner up with him and star in the production. First, Laura will need to obtain and familiarize herself with Georgie's unpublished archives and memoir and immerse herself in Georgie's life.

Georgie Hepburn was a silent screen star. She had her heart set on playing independent women, not damsels in distress. Her connections with writer Max Rosen enabled her to score a prime interview at Montgomery Studios. After World War I, talkies started to replace silent films. Georgie was asked by Mr. Montgomery to read a menu in order to determine the suitability of her voice for the British and American audiences. She was offered a three year contract with conditions. Georgie refused the terms in favor of her integrity and walked away from a successful film career. Through focus, determination and belief, she reinvented herself. Her Aunt Ginny was her biggest booster and means of emotional support.

Laura Scott came into her own as a woman of integrity as she strove to portray Georgina Hepburn in the one woman show, "Georgie by Georgie". She immersed herself in this authentic project and discovered her own spunk and integrity. She didn't know her own strength and creativity until
challenged.

"A Woman of Integrity" by J. David Simons reveals the choices made by two exceptional women, exceptional by staying true to themselves. Not all decisions were correct, many life changing. Both Laura and Georgie determined what was meaningful in defining them as strong, resilient women. An excellent well written tome worthy of more than a 5 star rating!

Thank you Freight Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "A Woman of Integrity".

A lovely and fun read!
Sometimes you need something more light heartened, especially with so many dreadful things happening all around us.
I really liked the interchanging narrations from chapter to chapter.
The characters are well fleshed out, likeable and just very enjoyable to read about. Simons was very clever in creating the parallels between the two female leads without it being too obvious and forceful.
Would definitely recommend this to others!

I am so incredibly moved by this book. At first, it seems to be about age and particularly the "expiration date" unjustly given by society to women in the arts certainly, but also in a broader sense. But upon deeper delving, we see that this is more about the constant insecurity that we can have as artists, the ebb and flow of work and why we choose to take it, do it, CREATE it, pursue it- or walk away from it. Specifically, it explores that feeling of loss when we hit a creative wall and the work just isn't coming, or it IS and it's not what we imagined for ourselves. Simons looks at how the artist confronts this and consequently grows, or chooses another path. And really, this can happen at any age - and the choices we make as artists then presumably inform our art; the integrity of our art.

The structure used is one of alternating chapters between Laura, "a woman on the wrong side of 50" and an actress, and Georgie, a woman who lived a generation before and who walked away from a career in film only to follow other paths of heroic war-time contribution and develop her own very private and dedicated practice of photography. I loved that the chapters were short and digestible, allowing me to drive through this book a pretty rapid pace.

Simons is a feminist. His voice is genderless and at no time is there the sense that he is pandering to women, or rather writing what he "thinks women want to hear" I have encountered this with other male writers attempting to write "the female experience," and I believe what makes this book so special is that it's not about that. It is about the artist's experience. And as a result, it spoke to me, a female artist, on a very deep level. I confidently recommend this to all artists.

Thank you NetGalley, J. David Simons, and Freight Books for the opportunity to read this eARC.

In "A Woman of Integrity," fifty-something fading actress Laura is faced with the loss of her agent, her career, her flat, and possibly her self-respect. Invited to participate in a documentary about her youthful idol, silent cinema actress and acclaimed photographer Georgie Hepburn, she jumps at the chance, only to discover that those she counted as friends are looking out for their own interests, not hers, and that integrity has a high price.

The narrative alternates between Laura's story and excerpts from Georgie's unpublished notes and memoirs, bringing the two women's stories together until Laura discovers the secrets that Georgie revealed to no one, not even those most directly affected by them. The effect heightens the tension, as each woman struggles with the question of what she is willing to do to preserve and further her career. Take demeaning roles? Sleep with the producer? Manipulate others as they have manipulated you? Good roles are scarce and woman does not live by fame alone, necessitating a constant cost/benefit analysis by the protagonists. Some might, like me, find Laura's scruples a little overly precious at times, but she is undoubtedly a woman who is finally waking up to the need to live her life on her own terms and do something that is meaningful to her, rather than chasing after Hollywood's brass ring. And Georgie herself is a delightful character, full of glamor and guts as a star of the silent screen, then a pioneering aviatrix, and finally a photographer who turns away from the glitz of the A-list in favor of chronicling the ailing and elderly. A fascinating read about women determined to run their lives instead of having their lives run for them.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I love books where the protagonist is a strong woman. Well, this book has two of them. Two actresses born in different eras: Georgina Hepburn, a silent era actress who becomes a pilot and photographer, and Laura Scott, a fading star floundering because she has been dumped by her agent and is facing financial difficulty. This is the story of how she and Georgie, who she portrays in a one-woman play, deal with difficult choices and remain true to themselves. So this was right up my alley.

Besides that, I liked how the novel has a dispassionate narrative style, as in there is zero angst in the descriptions themselves. Does that mean Laura and Georgie were unfeeling? No. It is more of a ‘I will cry in private and deal with the messy parts on my own, thank you’ attitude. While I love reading books full of angst and strife, I am more of ‘oh it happened, now deal with it’ kind when it comes to such situations in my life.

Note: This was given to me in exchange for an honest review by Freight Books via Net Galley. I thank them both.

A great story that's not about the guy or the job, it's about finding out what really matters to you and having the integrity to do it right.

This was a great read! It took me a few chapters to really get into the characters and understand that it was jumping between Laura and Georgie, but I did like the format. Mr. Simons did a wonderful job developing the characters and describing them such that I felt I really knew them. He also kept the story interesting with some unexpected twists and turns. I agree with others who have stated that this novel was refreshing; it was wonderful to read about two women (in different generations) who found success and satisfaction in themselves. And that was done despite being in very public professions where, I would imagine, overlooking other's opinions of your life and definitions of success are difficult to ignore. Many thanks to Freight Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!