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The Blue Butterfly: A Novel of Marion Davies Kindle Edition

by Leslie Johansen Nack (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 763 ratings
See all formats and editions
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.

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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    She Writes Press
  5. Publication date
    May 3, 2022
  6. File size
    3129 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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From the Publisher

Kirkus Review

Edward Lorusso endorsement

''...a vibrant period novel..." - Foreword Reviews

Laurel Davis Huber endorsement

Historical Novel Society endorsement

Editorial Reviews

Review

2023 IPPY Awards Gold Medalist in Audiobook - Fiction
2023 IPPY Awards Silver Medalist in Historical Fiction
2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, Gold Medal, Cover Design: Fiction
2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Finalist in Fiction: Historical
2022 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Finalist in Fiction (Historical - Personage)

“10 Historical Novels to Add To Your Summer Reading List”

—Ms. Career Girl


“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 


“Following the lives of real-world people to spin an engaging story is a tricky business . . . . Fortunately, author Leslie Johansen Nack has picked the perfect subject matter in Marion Davies whose life on and off the silver screen was filled with glamour and high drama..”

—Readers Favorite Review, 5 STARS


 “Leslie Johansen Nack goes where no author has gone before with this vibrant period novel that brilliantly reimagines the life of legendary film star, Marion Davies.”

 —Brit & Co, “12 Historical Romance Novels To Tide You Over Until Bridgerton Premieres”


"The Blue Butterfly is a vibrant period novel that reimagines the controversial love story of a classic film star.”

—Foreword Reviews


"A detailed, moving portrait of a complex woman in a complex life.”—Kirkus Reviews
“In The Blue Butterfly, Leslie Johansen Nack chronicles the career of the fabulous Marion Davies and captures the star’s legendary verve and spirit on the Broadway stage, in her Hollywood movies, and in the battle against Citizen Kane. More importantly, this novel tells of the love story between Davies and William Randolph Hearst to its heartbreaking end.” —Edward Lorusso, author of The Silent Films of Marion Davies

“Leslie Johansen Nack redeems the tragic legacy of Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst's long-time lover, in her newest, The Blue Butterfly. Dripping with diamonds and gilded with grandeur, The Blue Butterfly takes readers from the bowels of the New York stage to the glittering life of Hollywood and its stars. Haunting and heartbreaking, The Blue Butterfly elicits the gut-punch that what we do for love colors our lives forever.” 

—Ashley E. Sweeney, author of the award-winning Answer Creek and Hardland


“The Blue Butterfly is an unfiltered, first-person narrative told in glittering detail. It is the almost mythic story of a glowing, spirited woman who is captured and showered with riches beyond imagining—a butterfly in a gilded cage. In this very fast-paced book, which spares no detail in the telling, we see how dearly Marion Davies paid for her willing captivity.”

—Laurel Davis Huber, author of the award-winning The Velveteen Daughter


“You’ll have a new appreciation of the complex woman after reading this page-turning novel, which puts the spotlight on Davies once again.”

—Bookbub

About the Author

Leslie Johansen Nack’s debut, Fourteen, received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Before she started writing, she raised two children, ran a mechanical engineering business with her husband, took care of her aging mother, and dreamed of retirement when she could write full-time. She did everything late in life, including getting her degree in English Literature from UCLA at age thirty-one, only two years after she married for the second time. If you want to know when her next book is coming out, please visit her website www.lesliejohansennack.com and sign up to receive an email when she has her next release. She lives in sunny San Diego and enjoys sailing, hiking and reading.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09CDB1MV8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ She Writes Press (May 3, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3129 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 763 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Leslie Johansen Nack

Leslie Johansen Nack

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Leslie Johansen Nack’s debut novel, The Blue Butterfly, A Novel of Marion Davies has won two awards including 2022 CIBA Finalist for Goethe Late Historical Fiction. Her debut memoir, Fourteen, A Daughter’s Memoir, received five indie awards, including the 2016 Finalist in Memoir at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Before she started writing, she raised two children, ran a mechanical engineering business with her husband, took care of her aging mother, and dreamed of retirement when she could write full-time. She did everything late in life, including getting her degree in English Literature from UCLA. She lives in San Diego and enjoys sailing, hiking and reading.

Please visit her website www.lesliejohansennack.com and sign up for her newsletter.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
763 global ratings
Old Hollywood at its finest!
4 Stars
Old Hollywood at its finest!
This particular "soiree" was brimming with the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood and shed a lot of light on starlets and events I knew little about. Leslie Johansen Nack's talent is on full display in this historical fiction novel that sheds light on the life of largely forgotten Hollywood maven, Marion Davies, her torrid affair with W.R. Hearst, and her subsequent love affair with Charlie Chaplain. I learned so much about the negative effect that the film Citizen Kane had on her legacy - honestly, I didn't even realize the significance of that film. I was also surprised to learn about the reluctance that many key players in Hollywood felt about introducing sound into films.Now down to the nitty gritty... as most of you well know, I hate infidelity with a passion... so this subject matter was not my cup of tea. But, despite my blood boiling at Marion Davies' indiscretions, coupled with her unwavering entitlement, I really enjoyed the way the novel was written. Leslie Johansen Nack did an excellent job of uncovering the not so pretty truths of Old Hollywood in this first-person narrative. And I'm such a sucker for The Golden Age of Hollywood, that I devoured the "behind the scenes" events that contributed to our perception vs. reality.Many thanks to BookSparks, She Writes Press, and Leslie Johansen Nack, for a wonderful novel!
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Top reviews from the United States

Meg M
5.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
The Blue Butterfly was a very interesting read about old Hollywood. I had never heard of Marion Davies but I found her life story captivating. I recommend this book.
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Francesca D
4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
I knew very little about Marion Davies and William Hurst
I knew the Hurst name from visiting the Hurst Castle, an amazing
place and later from the Patty Hurst kidnapping but not their personal story or the amazing time in which they lived.
I recommend the book to anyone interested in early Hollywood and FIL making
One person found this helpful
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L. Wiegele
5.0 out of 5 stars A page turner
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have always had a fascination with Marion Davies, and read her autobiography "The Times we Had", and also WRHs biography. This fact based fictional interpretation was engaging and interesting. I did not know that there was a possibility that she was the mother of Patricia, but it does seem likely when you Google Patricia, who looks a lot like WR. There is never any logical answer as to why two people are drawn together and can never quit one another. WR did ensnare Marion in a gilded silken web of some kind of love based on attraction, need, power and maybe, just maybe, it was the real deal. He stayed with her even though she was an alcoholic. She stayed with him even when he controlled her career and her life. He bought her basically, and she allowed herself to be purchased. I had a lot of regard for WRs wife, and she played a tough, ruthless game. Marion did have WR as her life companion, but Millicent had the title MRS. In the end, the wife buried her husband. Marion was as if she'd never been. She had some kind of life, but the thing she wanted most was never hers.
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Country girl
4.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this easy read. Really tells a lot about silent movie stars to talkies. Good read if you like to know about life style of these celebrities.
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Harvey87
3.0 out of 5 stars A decent read
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2023
Verified Purchase
An easy to enjoy novel.
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Plc501
5.0 out of 5 stars Captured my attention which is difficult !
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Leslie Nack
developed the characters well and had me leaning in to clear my schedule so I could pick my book back up! I'm a recovering non- reader. More Lesley!
One person found this helpful
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Carole Bumpus, Author
5.0 out of 5 stars Rare Insight into Marion Davies: The Blue Butterfly
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
Many are familiar with the grandiosity of W.R. Hearst, but few have had a peek inside the world of Marion Davies, the woman who stole his heart. From her first days on the Broadway stage until her final days in Hollywood, Davies was a stubborn, hard-working gal, with a heart of gold. She lived the life of luxury as a Hollywood star but was always in the shadow of her lover, W.R. Hearst. Knack's rendering of Davies' life was exceptionally well-researched and brilliantly written. A great read!
2 people found this helpful
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MLBO
4.0 out of 5 stars Truly enjoyed
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
I enjoy historical fiction & have always been interested in Davies & Hearst after visiting Hearst Castle many times. The book is well paced & truly held me captive until it was over.
2 people found this helpful
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