Marabelle

New York Times–bestselling author Jennifer Wilde’s dishy and delightful novel about a world-famous star is loosely based on the life of Tallulah Bankhead Three-year-old Marabelle Lawrence makes her first headline when she climbs onto the roof of her apartment building and waits to be rescued. Edward C. Hunt is enchanted by the budding star’s attention-getting hijinks, and the two become instant friends. Many years later, they go their separate ways, Edward to Princeton to become a great writer and Marabelle to New York to become a star. But their relationship spans decades of Marabelle’s tumultuous life—on and off the stage and screen. Sweeping from Alabama to New York, London to Hollywood, Marabelle delivers an unforgettable portrait of a larger-than-life personality, brilliantly capturing the frightened, vulnerable woman behind the flamboyant persona and the pathos beneath the drunken binges, passionate love affairs, and failed suicide attempts. With its cast of endearing characters, including real-life celebrities Noël Coward, Cole Porter, Dorothy Parker, Marlene Dietrich, and Gary Cooper, here is a vivid depiction of a place and time that will never come again.