Lady Be Good: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale

Kirkus Starred Review - A Kirkus Best Indie Book of the Year - BookLife by Publishers Weekly Editor's Pick - IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award - Two National Indie Excellence Awards - Two Royal Dragonfly Book Awards - Readers' Favorite International Book Award - American Fiction Award - Finalist for the Mark Twain Award for Humor and Satire - Literary Hub Selection: Most stellar books of fiction with unusually affecting female characters

"Invitingly readable... Surprisingly gripping." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Hamilton instantly captivates readers." -BookLife by Publishers Weekly, Editor's Pick

A moving portrait of Dorothy Hale, the legendary 1930s socialite immortalized in one of Frida Kahlo's most celebrated paintings. In her multi-award-winning debut novel, Pamela Hamilton delivers glamour, romance, tragedy, a close and stormy friendship with famed playwright and Vogue and Vanity Fair editor Clare Boothe Luce and the enchanting story of two women navigating a world of incredible wealth and power in New York, Paris, Hollywood, and grand estates of the Gold Coast-a perfect book club read.

Lady Be Good transports us to the glittering, sumptuous era of 1920s New York to follow the life of aspiring actress Dorothy Hale as she comes of age. Breaking societal rules imposed on women, "Peck's Bad Girl of Pittsburgh Society" leaves behind her privileged world for the bright lights of Broadway to chase her dream. From convent school debutante runaway to Ziegfeld showgirl to Hollywood star, Hale transforms herself into one of the most adored figures in the highest echelons of society. Yet behind the public façade the darling of the press contends with heart-rending loss, gossip and betrayal, and a tempestuous friendship with Luce.

Surrounded by her fabulous circle of friends-Gertrude Stein, Fred Astaire, Cole Porter, James Roosevelt, Elsa Maxwell, and other iconic figures-Dorothy finds her way to the other side of heartbreak and prepares for a White House wedding. Then, suddenly, at age thirty-three, at the height of happiness and peak of her fame, she falls to her death. Her life story is revised and written into history by the tabloids and the famed and fêted-leading to this novel's stunning conclusion.

Former NBC producer Pamela Hamilton turns her journalism skills on discovering the facts about Dorothy Hale's story, then spins them with color and life into breathtaking revelations about the irresistible and misunderstood glamour girl whose legend has endured for more than half a century.

"Deeply evocative... A magnificent debut novel." -Bill Dedman, Pulitzer Prize Winner, New York Times #1 Bestselling Author of Empty Mansions

Author: Pamela Hamilton
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 03/31/2021
Pages: 298
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d
ISBN: 9781646632725


Award: Benjamin Franklin Award - Gold Medal Winner


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2021
PW Booklife Reviews 11/15/2021

About the Author
Hamilton, Pamela: - Pamela Hamilton is a writer and consultant who has worked with notable figures in business, US intelligence, music, and the arts, and has covered some of the most significant events of the twenty-first century. For more than a decade she was a producer for NBC News, and she was a producer on the award-winning documentary Grateful Dawg. Based in Manhattan, she serves on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Club and on the advisory board of the Art Deco Society of New York.

This title is not returnable