The Blue Butterfly

Book excerpt: 2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Medal, Fiction: Historical “The book reads as if it really is Davies’ autobiography . . . . a timely reminder of what women would have been up against in Hollywood.” —Historical Novel Society “The Blue Butterfly is a vibrant period novel that reimagines the controversial love story of a classic film star.” —Foreword Reviews New York 1915, Marion Davies is a shy eighteen-year-old beauty dancing on the Broadway stage when she meets William Randolph Hearst and finds herself captivated by his riches, passion and desire to make her a movie star. Following a whirlwind courtship, she learns through trial and error to live as Hearst’s mistress when a divorce from his wife proves impossible. A baby girl is born in secret in 1919 and they agree to never acknowledge her publicly as their own. In a burgeoning Hollywood scene, she works hard making movies while living a lavish partying life that includes a secret love affair with Charlie Chaplin. In late 1937, at the height of the depression, Hearst wrestles with his debtors and failing health, when Marion loans him $1M when nobody else will. Together, they must confront the movie that threatens to invalidate all of Marion’s successes in the movie industry: Citizen Kane.