Instead of seeming gimmicky or schmaltzy, as it might’ve in the 1960s, the trials of these young women now seem candid, realistic. Reading Valley of the Dolls feels like that first champagne bubble-buzz, the vibrating hum of a crowded bar, the smooth gurgle of a sweet pill sliding down your throat. It was the 50 Shades of Grey of its time, and it was received with the same mixture of wild fandom and critical derision.” –Lauren Smart, Dallas Morning News Valley acknowledged the existence of sex in a way no other book previously had, particularly from the female and homosexual perspectives. Susann set her story in post-World War II America, offering a devastating peek behind the crumbling facade of female stardom in a male-dominant world. It pushed the genre of fictionalized show business into a new realm of realism. The watershed work has since entered the popular lexicon, shorthand for the seemingly glamorous destruction of drug addiction.” –Nathan Smith, Broadly The book details the lives of three women working in Hollywood and New York and their destructive addiction to prescription pills, or ‘dolls’–a reference to how they cling to the drugs, the way a child might become inseparable from a cherished toy doll. “Fifty years later, its alternative feminist message still rings true. In airing her grievances, she aired the grievances of an entire gender.”–Brooke Hauser, author of Enter Helen

“I think it is a feminist book, but I don’t think the label really matters. The kind of language that she uses and the kind of imagination she has are totally contemporary.” –Camille Paglia There’s a punchy, masculine, brazen quality to writing that I identify with as a reader. “ Valley of the Dolls is one of the great books of the postwar era. Valley of the Dolls will live forever.” –Simon Doonan “I tell every millennial they should read it. “It’s the most unputdownable book.” –Candace Bushnell a kaleidoscope of fame, sex, addiction, homosexuality, cancer, adultery, suicide, divorce, abortion.” –Holly Millea, Elle A shocker at the time, VOTD was a racy roman ” clef depicting. “A cult classic about three girls, striving to become stars, whose dreams come true–only to be derailed by their dependence on “dolls,” Susann’s slang for uppers and downers.

Jackie was among other things utterly sincere in what she wrote.” –Anne Rice

“I marvel as always at the raw energy, the detail, and the grim authenticity of the book’s depiction of New York show biz society.

Sure, it’s gossipy, salacious and packed with pop culture, but it also tackles some pretty important issues head-on– Valley of the Dolls was way, way ahead of its time.” – Running in Heels (UK)

Novel valley of the dolls