1966: in London, Jackie Collins’s racy The World is Full of Married Men hits bookshops and launches her career. In New York, Jacqueline Susann’s debut novel Valley of the Dolls is published, and she’s desperate for it to be a bestseller.
But both are about to discover the price they will pay for being women who dare to write about sex.
Meanwhile, college graduate Nancy White is excited to take up her dream job at a Manhattan publishing house.
But Nancy could never be prepared for the rampant sexism she is about to encounter.
When Nancy introduces the two Jackies, she fears they will become rivals in their race to top the charts.
As she strives to achieve her ambition of becoming an editor, can all three women succeed despite the men determined to hold them back?
Scandalous Women by Gill Paul is published on 29 August, 2024.
Gill writes about the way top bestselling books through the ages have reflected the preoccupations of the times they were published in — including those by Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann.
There’s more historical fiction in our round-up of over 180 books coming out this year.
