The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
 First edition | |
| Author | Taylor Jenkins Reid |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Atria Books |
Publication date | June 13, 2017 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback), audiobook, e-book |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 9781501139239 |
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a historical fiction novel by American author Taylor Jenkins Reid and published by Atria Books in 2017. The novel tells the story of the fictional Old Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, who at the age of 79 decides to give a final interview to an unknown journalist, Monique Grant. According to Reid, Evelyn Hugo was loosely based in part on actresses Elizabeth Taylor, who was married eight times to seven different men, and Ava Gardner, who revealed the secrets of her life to a journalist which was eventually published as Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations. Reid also discusses how Rita Hayworth was a big influence on the character Evelyn Hugo. Hayworth, whose father was a Spaniard, had a very similar start to Hugo which can be seen in the beginning of the novel.[1][2]
The novel was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction of 2017.[3][4] [5] In 2019, Freeform and Fox 21 Television Studios picked up the rights for development. Jennifer Beals and Ilene Chaiken, who worked on The L Word, will be producing the show.[6] Reid will work on the show as a screenwriter.
Plot
Monique Grant, a 35-year-old reporter for Vivant magazine, receives word from her editor that she has been picked to interview Evelyn Hugo, 79, a reclusive actress, about her plan to auction off her gowns in order to raise money for a breast cancer charity. Monique is a junior writer who doesn't understand why Hugo chose her, but she goes to the actress's Upper East Side apartment to meet her.
Evelyn Hugo begins by telling her life story. Evelyn marries her first husband, Ernie Diaz, in exchange for a ride to Hollywood when she is 14 years old and living in Hell's Kitchen with her abusive father. When she arrives, she is noticed by Harry Cameron, a young Sunset Studios producer. Evelyn seduces a Sunset executive in order to land the role of Jo in a Little Women adaptation. She divorces Ernie Diaz because the studio wants her to be shown publicly dating renowned guys. On their first date, she falls in love with fellow actor Don Adler, and the two marry. Don, on the other hand, immediately becomes harsh and hits her when she refuses to obey his whims.
The production of Little Women goes ahead. Evelyn, now 21, stars opposite Celia St. James, 19. Evelyn is initially jealous of Celia's talent, but the two quickly form a bond. At a party after the opening of the film, a friend tells Evelyn that Celia is a lesbian. Evelyn confronts Celia in private to ask if this is true. Celia asks if she will no longer be her friend if it is, and Evelyn kisses her. At this same party, Don Adler has sex with another woman. Evelyn divorces Don and moves in with Celia.
Evelyn is ostracized in Hollywood because the industry is loyal to Don. She goes to Paris and stars in a racy film by French director Max Girard that reignites her career. A tabloid runs an article suggesting that Evelyn and Celia are lesbians, and Evelyn concocts a plan to hide their relationship. She will get Mick Riva, a singer who has made his crush on Evelyn publicly known, to take her to Las Vegas and marry her, then get the marriage annulled in the morning. This, she believes, will distract the press. The plan works perfectly except Evelyn, who had to sleep with Mick in order to get him to marry her, is pregnant. Evelyn gets an abortion, but Celia is furious and leaves her. They do not speak for five years.
After starring in an adaptation of Anna Karenina, Evelyn enters into a sham marriage with her co-star, Rex North, in order to gain publicity for the film. Shortly thereafter, Rex impregnates his girlfriend and Evelyn spins another story, that she had also been cheating with Harry Cameron (who in reality is a closeted gay man). Evelyn and Celia (who has entered into her own sham marriage with an NFL quarterback named John Braverman, also gay) reunite. Evelyn marries Harry, and Celia and John move in with them, two homosexual couples passing as two heterosexual couples. Life is idyllic for Evelyn during this period, and when Harry suggests they have a child, Evelyn, now 36, agrees. They have a baby girl and name her Connor.
Evelyn stars in another Max Girard movie, and the director asks her to film an explicit sex scene. She acquiesces. Evelyn realizes afterwards that she should have discussed this with Celia first, so she goes to Celia to ask permission. Celia asks her not to film the scene, and Evelyn must admit she already did. Celia leaves Evelyn and they are once again separated for several years. In the interim, John Braverman dies, and Harry is crushed. He begins drinking excessively. Max Girard proposes to Evelyn. She marries him, but immediately discovers he does not really love her, only the status and fame she brings to the relationship. She stays married to him for six years, then leaves to reunite with Celia. Celia suggests they move to Spain to avoid public scrutiny. She also tells Evelyn that she has emphysema and is not expected to live another 10 years. Evelyn asks Harry to go with them, and he suggests Celia marry the new man he has been seeing. Before this plan can move forward, Evelyn arrives at Harry's house one day to discover a car accident out front. Harry is unconscious in the driver's seat, the man in the passenger seat (Harry's lover) is dead. Evelyn convinces her taxi driver to help her get Harry to the hospital so he is not charged with a crime. Harry dies.
Evelyn, Celia, and Connor move to Spain, along with Celia's brother Robert, whom Evelyn agrees to marry to disguise her relationship with Celia. Celia passes away six years later. Robert dies a few years after that, and then Connor is diagnosed with breast cancer and she also dies. Evelyn explains that she has also been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she wants people to know the truth about her life, that her family was always her central priority. She did some terrible things, but she did them for love.
Monique asks Evelyn what she means, and Evelyn responds that Monique's father was the passenger in Harry's car. Evelyn allowed the authorities to believe that James had been driving drunk by moving Harry from the scene. Monique is furious, and she storms out, but it occurs to her that Evelyn has told her all of this because she intends to end her life. She considers calling 911, but decides that it should be Evelyn's choice if she wants to die. Monique realizes that she will forgive Evelyn one day. Evelyn's death is reported as an accidental overdose, and Monique publishes the introduction for her biography in Vivant, finally disclosing that the true love of Evelyn's life was not one of her seven husbands.
Background
Reid released the book cover and an excerpt of the book with Entertainment Weekly on December 6, 2016.[7]
In an interview with PopSugar,[8] Reid mentions how Elizabeth Taylor; the books Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations about Ava Gardner's multiple relationships throughout her career, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star an autobiography of Tab Hunter talking about what life was like for the LGBTQ+ community in Hollywood at the time and Scandals of Classic Hollywood by Anne Helen Petersen were inspirations for the novel.
Editions
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was released in hardcover on June 1, 2017 by Atria Publishing Group. By June 13, 2017 the novel had been released as a paperback, Audible audio, and Kindle edition. In addition to being printed in English, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was also translated for print in many other languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanian, Swedish, Croatian, French, Slovak, Hungarian, Dutch and Italian. [9]
Reception
The novel received positive reviews. The Globe and Mail called it "a cinematic tale with hardscrabble roots, staggering highs and sickening lows."[10] The novel was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction of 2017,[3][4][5] and a finalist for Book of the Month's Book of the Year award in 2017. [11]
References
- ^ Granett, Brandi Megan Granett (2017-05-22). "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Q & A with Taylor Jenkins Reid". Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ Block, Tara. "Taylor Jenkins Reid on the Scandalous True Stories That Inspired Her Latest Novel". Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ a b "BEST HISTORICAL FICTION". Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ a b Petski, Denise (September 19, 2019). "'The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo' Adaptation In Works At Freeform; Ilene Chaiken & Jennifer Beals To EP".
- ^ a b "Jennifer Beals, Ilene Chaiken Adapting 'Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' for Freeform". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' is Coming to Freeform | Bookstr". bookstr.com. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ Biedenharn, I., & Biedenharn, I. (n.d.). See the Cover for Taylor Jenkins Reid's 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo'. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://ew.com/article/2016/12/06/taylor-jenkins-reid-seven-husbands-evelyn-hugo-cover/
- ^ Block, Tara (2017-06-13). "Taylor Jenkins Reid on the Scandalous True Stories That Inspired Her Latest Novel". POPSUGAR Love & Sex. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
- ^ Editions of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/46885151-the-seven-husbands-of-evelyn-hugo?page=1
- ^ Stapley, Melissa. "Review: Roz Nay's Our Little Secret, Julia Fierro's The Gypsy Moth Summer and Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo". Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ "The Best Books of the Year | Book of the Month". www.bookofthemonth.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.