Wow, a downer. My hopes started high, but it read like an overly long diary entry of debauchery and bad choices. Everyone is so self-indulgent, it’s no wonder their lives were in tatters. Is this really a story that needs to be told? I’m thinking…no. Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for this advanced copy.

“The Blue Butterfly,” by Leslie Johansen Hack is an historical fiction novel detailing the life of actress Marion Davies, first as a young theater actress and dancer with the Ziegfeld Follies in the early years of the Twentieth Century and then as an actress during the early years of Hollywood. It also delves into her sometimes tumultuous long term relationship with William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon.

The author brings to life the historical atmosphere in which Marion Davies and Hearst lived with her deft descriptions of private car train travel, yachts, ocean voyages and the many luxurious properties which Marion and Hearst inhabited, as well as the early days of Hollywood. It also included many interactions with famous actors of the time, including Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish and Harpo Marx, among others.

In addition, she fleshes out the dichotomy of Marion Davies’ personality, depicting her as sometimes brash, daring and fearless, but at times vulnerable and insecure in both her acting abilities and her standing with Hearst, who remained married to his wife throughout his relationship with Marion. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction featuring strong female figures from the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing me an ARC of this book for my review.

I was first captivated by the beautiful cover on this novel and later by the story itself.

Beginning in 1915 in New York, until 1951 in California, this story details the lengthy love affair between the multimedia billionaire, William Randolph Hearst, and a much younger dancer, actress, and later a silent film star, Marion Davies. Her long time dedication to Hearst was fueled by love and all the things that he and his money could buy for her; clothes, jewelry, limos, trips, penthouse apartments, homes for her family, acting and directing jobs and a movie studio. However, their happiness was contrasted by the sadness within their lives and their relationship.

The author, Ms. Nack, does a beautiful job of portraying the life of Marion Davies with WRH as one of complete love and devotion, even during the times of betrayal. Their lives were filled with glamorous parties with A-list movie stars, directors, scientists and politicians. And, even during the most trying times, Marion stood by him.

I highly recommend this book to readers who love stories of old Hollywood and the lives of the rich and famous. I found myself doing further research on these characters as well as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Greta Garbo.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, She Writes Press, for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date: May 3, 2022.

I have always been fascinated with Old Hollywood and loved The Blue Butterfly. This book tells the story of Marion Davies, an actress in many silent films and talkies and also the long time mistress of William Randolph Hearst. I highly recommend this book!

I had a great time reading this book, it was what I was looking for in a historical novel. The characters were amazing and I enjoyed the storyline going through this book. I enjoyed learning about Marion Davies after and enjoyed my journey through this book.

This is a book that covers one of the most fascinating times in the 20th century. If you love early Hollywood mixed with actual people who lived and loved this is the book for you. Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst had a legendary romance. I was so interested in their story I did some research on them. That is how good this book is !! It’s a non stop read. Enjoy !!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity to read and review this book.

Marion Davies was 19 when she met the married newspaper tycoon, William Randolph Hearst. Needless to say, she stayed by his side as his mistress and partner until his death in 1951. While theirs was an unconventional and salacious love affair at the time, Marion remained at his side through thick and thin. She herself was magnanimous, making over 48 movies during her time as a Hollywood starlet, and becoming a top earner. While I was familiar with the characters (historical fiction buff here), I was excited to learn more and loved the minor details, writing, and storytelling ability of the author.

A very interesting book based on the real lives of famous people. I did enjoy it and wanted to know what was going to happen. There was plenty of drama and excitement. I do recommend it .

The historical research, as well as the supposition of how Davies and Hurst's child was born, was handled with a deft and capable touch. However, the main problem of this novel is that Davies is insufferable as a person. It's hard to root for her or to be on her side about a lot of what happened to her. I wanted to see her as an underdog, but as presented here, she chose every wrong avenue and I just wanted to smack her instead of connect with her.

This was a wonderful book. I read it so fast (actually inhaled it) I will have to read it again. I was fascinated by their love story, fascinated by the era they lived in, all this while learning about the two of them.. It really was an addictive type of book. Kudos to the author who has given us a well written and well executed story. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

"The Blue Butterfly" is, as the title promises, a historical fiction take on the life of Marion Davies. Davies, an early silent film star, known also as William Randolph Hearst's life-long mistress, without a doubt is a fascinating subject--the times in which she lived, the settings, even the mystery surrounding some members of her family.

What's good: The story is interesting. I didn't know much of Davies or this particular social set, so it was all new to me. Marion's voice sounds viable for the period and her feelings toward WR are credible, even if, more than once, I was silently urging her to just cut him off.

What's iffier: There were moments in the book when it felt like the author decided to shift into Wikipedia mode and just do fact dumps before hopping forward in time. The author at times focuses heavily on what's happening, moving the story forward, vs. taking a moment to pause, to tell us Marion's feelings about those events. (I'd have loved to hear more about the movie-making process, for example.)

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is historical fiction based on the lifelong affair between Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst.
She was his mistress (and so much more) for over 40 years. She was 19 and he was in his 40s when they met.

This covers a really interesting period in time - the Follies, the transition from silent movies to talking movies, the big stars of the day. Marion makes movies, has a secret baby, has an affair with Charlie Chaplan, and sticks by Hearst through thick and thin.

I was totally sucked into this story. And this made me put down the book, and do some research - I had to know - how much was true and how much was fiction. Thats the sign of good historical fiction to me - when it makes you want to learn more.

I read this in a little over a day - I just kept turning the pages wanting to know what happened next. I felt like I was making movies with marion. I felt like I was at their lavish parties. I wanted to yell at the sexist, misogynistic men in that time. I was just sucked in.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for providing an ARC which did not impact my review. And thank you for the opportunity to escape into another world and another time.

I grew up knowing the names of Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, and many other female actresses that my grandmother and parents grew up watching. Marion Davies was not among these names. Even after knowing about the movies Citizen Kane and Mank, I still knew nothing about Marion Davies. Hollywood doesn’t give Marion Davies enough credit for her many accomplishments. The Blue Butterfly has taught me so much about Marion and more. It brought attention to the questionable nature of many prominent male actors of the time (yes Charlie Chaplin is a creep) and the blatant sexism that women endured. Marion Davies is more than just the mistress of WR Hearst. She fought to put herself first and devoted herself to protecting her family and loved ones. The author did a wonderful job telling Marion’s story. At times I felt like I was a guest at one of Marion’s lavish parties because the imagery is unreal. If you love historical fiction with juicy Hollywood secrets, this book is a must.

Marion Davies becomes william Randolph Hearst's mistress. very interesting story I enjoyed reading this story, will look for more books by this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and She Writes Press for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
This is the story of silent film star Marion Davies and her 40-year affair with William Randolph Hearst. Even though this is mostly what she is known for, I liked that the author included so many other details about her and her life. It was interesting to read about her sisters and some other well-known Hollywood stars of that time. Overall, a good book about a complex relationship and Hollywood history.

This is a historical fiction novel about the silent film star, Marion Davies. The story centers around her 40-year affair with William Randolph Hearst, her career and the absolute extravagance of their lives. It was an interesting view into that time period of stage and movies. Overall, an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and SheWrites for this ARC. Marion Davies is a dancer at Ziegfeld Follies and caught the eye of WR Hearst. She quickly becomes his mistress at the age of 19 and became her manager. Over the course of her career, she filmed over 29 films and continued her relationship with WR for the next 40 years, until his death in 1951. I loved her life story and loved hearing about all the movie stars she had contact with. Nack writes a great story! #TheBlueButterfly #LeslieJohansenNack #May2022

Very good and made me want to learn more about Marion Davies, but found the ending abrupt. Marion sometimes felt one dimensional.

This is an excellent historical fiction novel about Marion Davies, a 1920s actress and the long-time mistress of William Randolph Hearst. Her story is fascinating, and she interacted with many other famous and interesting people and events of the time. I felt transported to this time period, and really enjoyed learning more about this fascinating woman.

THE BLUE BUTTERFLY
BY: LESLIE JOHANSEN NACK

When reading Historical Fiction about factual people and their lives, I am always left wondering how much of what I just read is true and what is fiction. I was very excited to read this enjoyable novel about Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst. Marion Davies, a novel, is what I discovered after reading this entire somewhat longer than usual book and it wasn't until I reached the end and read the Author's Note, (which I always appreciate) did I learn that there was only one biography written in 1972, about Marion Davies. She died in September, 1961. She had dictated her life story but, she didn't get the chance to write her intended autobiography before she died. The Author, of this novel said she tried to make as much of a true accounting of the facts as possible. I gave this five stars for the storytelling that kept me reading and never bored and the fact that I got completely swept away and was extremely entertained from cover to cover.

It starts out in New York City, in 1907. The story is narrated in Marion's voice and she was the baby of the family of five children. Her name was Marion Cecilia Douras. Marian telling the story from her point of view was another winner of points for me and I found it not only intimate but enjoyable. By the time Marion was ten years old she said that she had to fend for herself and for the most part she liked it that way. She was a tomboy and being a troublemaker came easy for her. She conveys that her mother wasn't exactly neglectful, she just ran out of hugs by the time Marion was born. Her mother saw the "bleak economic realities for women" like her and her three sisters and guided them to seek opportunities to meet and marry wealthy and eligible men lied in steering her daughters to work in the theater, where the lines between the classes blurred. Her mother sort of instilled in her four daughters to navigate the world as best as she knew how, which some may see that as raising gold diggers. I never got the sense that Marion was a gold digger reading this novel about her life. She wasn't poor. Her father was a lawyer and they had two homes. I got the sense that Marion truly loved William Randolph Hearst or WR as she called him.

Her two older sister's named Reine and Ethel had jobs in the theater and Marion watched them dress and do their hair before heading off to their jobs. Her brother drowned when Marion was young, but she saw the toll that losing his only son took on her father. There is a picture of Marion in the beginning of this novel and she was stunningly beautiful with huge azure blue eyes and blond curly hair. It is easy to imagine how WR took one look at her when she got her job in the theater and he seemed smitten and he sent her a dozen long stem red roses in the very early stages when she was dancing.

In the early 1900's women from all walks of life were uniting to get the vote. Silent movies were the trend, the Ford motor company had the monopoly on cars and Theodore Roosevelt was president and the only way for women to ascend their station in life was to marry up. Marion's mother took it as her full time job to prepare all four of her daughters for Vaudeville. All four sisters took singing and dancing from the age of five. As I said, I felt that Marion was by no means poor when I read that they had a house in the posh Gramercy Park, which their mother lived with her oldest sisters' Reine and Ethel at first. Rose who was two years older than Marion was at times less close to Marion. Marion states that her and Rose lived during the week with their father in Brooklyn in their Victorian home. Marion was a fun loving youth who enjoyed joking and pranks in between twirling and dancing. Acting as a tomboy Marion dressed up as a boy and tucked her hair in a cap and joined a group of boys who threw rotten produce at houses when she was younger. The group got caught and the police informed Marion's mother that one of their targets was the butler of William Randolph Hearst.

I got the feeling that the Author wrote the novel featuring Marion and WR as sympathetic character's. When Marion got her turn at the theater she was noticed by WR and the gifts kept arriving. Three dozen Long stem roses, a gold and diamond watch in a blue box from Tiffany's and a key to an apartment were all sent to Marion by WR after her shows. He met her backstage and told her the apartment was hers and so she went there and WR was there. He and Marion drank champagne and she was nineteen years old and he was fifty-two years old. They enjoyed each other's company and by this time Marion was dancing in the Ziegfeld Follies. WR told her that he loved her and wanted to make her a movie star. She invited him to dinner to meet her family and it was asked by one of her parent's about his marital status. He said he was working on getting divorced from his wife Millicent who he had five children with.

WR soon bought a production Company which he managed and he picked the scripts for Marion to act in. She felt that he was managing her and later when she went out West to California she was under contract with MGM which the silent movies gave her parts in. WR helped open doors for her, but the price she paid was him making the decisions of which roles she would act in. Before that, the novel says that she got pregnant and she left for Europe with her sister Rose who she was to let Rose raise their child. Rose kept having miscarriages and WR could not get a divorce so the baby had to be given up which Marion felt was difficult but that was the arrangement to keep the baby from not knowing her real mother and father. Only WR and Marion's family knew that Marion and WR had a child together and it was kept a secret. WR wasn't present for the birth. Marion kept the secret and she reluctantly gave their baby daughter to her sister Rose and her husband George to raise.

The way the novel was written it came across it portrayed WR always building his homes which money was endless. He was always working and Marion moved her whole family out to California. She seemed quite generous taking care of her family. WR kept pouring money into what he called the ranch. Opulent living to the point of WR spending a fortune and Marion did a lot of drinking.

I don't want to disclose anymore than I have for leaving the rest to the reader to discover and enjoy if they think they would like to read this. I really enjoyed it, but it was slanted towards making WR and Marion in love and totally devoted to one another. Is this true? I don't know. There are other famous actors mentioned. I would have to read more non-fiction about both of them to determine what was factual and what is fiction. I was engrossed by the Author's writing style and the narrative. I would recommend this but emphasize that this is in fact a novel about Marion Davies. It has me intrigued to read what little there is about Marion Davies. There is also Charlie Chaplin's biographies to explore as mentioned at the end. I am more likely to read more non-fiction about these people but this was fun and enlightening and piqued my interest to seek out more about the sources mentioned and see what further I can learn.

Publication Date: May 3, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Leslie Johansen Nack and She Writes Press for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheBlueButterfly #LeslieJohansenNack #SheWritesPress #NetGalley