The Great Pretenders

Author(s): Laura Kalpakian

Location(s): Hollywood

Genre(s): Fiction, Historical

Era(s): Mid 20th Century

Outraged by her grandfather’s illicit affair with Empire Pictures’ latest femme fatale, Roxanne Granville forsakes her position as Hollywood royalty and rejects the man who raised her, determined to strike out on her own in McCarthy-era California. Backed by little more than the stubborn grit she inherited from her beloved grandmother, Roxanne sets up shop as a low-budget film agent for budding screenwriters. When an old friend, exiled from Hollywood and Empire Pictures by her grandfather for being a Communist sympathiser, begs for her help, Roxanne decides to right the wrongs committed by her family. Its what her grandmother would have wanted. Soon Roxanne finds herself at the helm of a lucrative business, having landed her secret clients a handful of major studio deals through willing frontmen. Her newfound freedom leads her to a passionate relationship with an African American journalist and jazz aficionado. But Hollywood is ruthless when it senses a scandal. How long will it take before all of Roxanne’s success comes crumbling down?

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