Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ’80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
“Heartbreaking, yet beautiful” (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.
Evelyn isn't just remembering her life. She's editing it. The book runs in seven parts, each named for a husband, so the marriages work as a table of contents and as Evelyn's own spin on her legend. Kirkus liked that structure for what it shows of her ambition and frailty. Bookreporter found the real substance in the celebrity image-making under the glamour.
The voice is the draw. Goodreads readers keep calling Evelyn a morally grey narrator worth spending time with, and that's right. Where readers part ways is on what the book does with identity. Some cheer a bisexual Golden Age heroine in a mainstream bestseller. Others say Evelyn's Cuban heritage and Monique's biracial identity get a light touch at best.
Kirkus admired the aging star's voice and the seven-marriage structure. Bookreporter enjoyed the crisp prose and distinct voices, though the book loses some speed near the end. Readers nominated it for the 2017 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction, where it didn't win, and it was a Book of the Month finalist.
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Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the New York Times Bestselling novels Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Her novel, Daisy Jones and The Six, is now a limited series on Amazon Prime. She lives in Los Angeles.
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