Captain of Her Soul
The Life of Marion Davies
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
Northern California Book Awards Shortlist
The comprehensive critical biography of silent-screen star Marion Davies, who fittingly referred to herself as "the captain of my soul."
From Marion Davies's humble days in Brooklyn to her rise to fame alongside press baron William Randolph Hearst, the public life story of the film star plays like a modern fairy tale shaped by gossip columnists, fan magazines, biopics, and documentaries. Yet the real Marion Davies remained largely hidden from view, as she was wary of interviews and trusted few with her true life story. In Captain of Her Soul, Lara Gabrielle pulls back layers of myth to show a complex and fiercely independent woman, ahead of her time, who carved her own path.
Through meticulous research, unprecedented access to archives around the world, and interviews with those who knew Davies, Captain of Her Soul counters the public story. This book reveals a woman who navigated disability and social stigma to rise to the top of a young Hollywood dominated by powerful men. Davies took charge of her own career, negotiating with studio heads and establishing herself as a top-tier comedienne, but her proudest achievement was her philanthropy and advocacy for children. This biography brings Davies out of the shadows cast by the Hearst legacy, shedding light on a dynamic woman who lived life on her own terms and declared that she was "the captain of her soul."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Actor Marion Davies (1897–1961) may have lived "a life shrouded in mystery, rumor, and half-truths," but she was witty, talented, and loyal, according to this sparkling debut from film historian Gabrielle. The author recaps Davies's rise from Broadway chorus girl to top-billed MGM star in the 1920s, thanks in part to her lover William Randolph Hearst's lavish financing, production, and promotion of her movies (his headline writers, for instance, pronounced When Knighthood Was in Flower "the greatest picture ever filmed"). Oft maligned—incorrectly, Gabrielle notes—as the model for Citizen Kane character Susan Alexander (a talentless opera-diva wife), Davies, in Gabrielle's telling, was a talented actor and comedian whose gifts were often wasted in the stodgy costume dramas that Hearst preferred. She was also ebullient (despite alcoholic rages later in life) and generous; far from a rich man's helpless dependent, she asserted herself against the maniacally controlling Hearst and even offered him $1 million of her own money to rescue his bankrupt company during the Depression. Gabrielle's narrative is a breezy, colorful saga of Old Hollywood, full of showbiz picaresque, glamorous parties at Hearst's San Simeon castle, and a touching romance between two flawed, magnetic personalities. Film buffs will want to check this one out. Photos.
