The Blue Butterfly

2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Medal, Fiction: Historical 'The book reads as if it really is Davies' autobiography ... . a timely reminder of what women would have been up against in Hollywood.' - Historical Novel Society 'The Blue Butterfly is a vibrant period novel that reimagines the controversial love story of a classic film star.' - Foreword Reviews 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 dollars 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