The Original
The stunning novel that takes us behind the scenes in the life of Katharine Hepburn
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- Précommander
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- Sortie prévue le 18 juin 2026
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- 10,99 €
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- Précommander
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- 10,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
Katharine Hepburn won more Oscars than any actor in history - and yet her most memorable role is the one she carved for herself.
Hollywood in the early 1930s is a town full of secrets. When Katharine Hepburn arrives to launch her film career, she leaves behind her East Coast marriage and icy patrician family to live and love on her own terms. But stars must play by the rules and Kate, brilliant and bisexual, refuses to conform.
Surrounded by a legendary circle of intimates, including the powerful David and Irene Selznick, charming and romantically conflicted actor Cary Grant, ambitious director John Ford, and millionaire tycoon Howard Hughes, Kate navigates a web of sex, ambition, loyalty, and betrayal. All of them strive for success while struggling to outrun their own secrets. As Kate's career ascends, she faces an agonizing choice: be the star everyone wants her to be, or risk everything to become the woman she always was.
Drawing on primary archival sources, Parmar brings a fresh perspective to Hepburn's life and sparkling career
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Parmar (Vanessa and Her Sister) brings to life 1930s Hollywood with this revealing biographical novel about Katharine Hepburn. Daughter of a prominent Connecticut suffragist and a physician, Kate is devastated at 13 by her older brother Tom's death by suicide. Eventually, she manages to move forward, graduating from Bryn Mawr, marrying her college sweetheart, and embarking on a theater career in New York. A screen test for RKO Pictures leads to an offer for a part in the film A Bill of Divorcement, and Kate accepts, leaving for Los Angeles with her friend Laura Harding. As she and Laura try to hide their romantic relationship from the press, Kate embarks on an affair with her agent, Leland Hayward, while maintaining a friendship with producer David Selznick's wife, Irene, and megastar Cary Grant, who dispels rumors about his romantic relationship with Randolph Scott by marrying a starlet. Parmar sensitively explores Kate's sexuality, which she keeps hidden throughout her career, as well as her vulnerability following Tom's death and her quest to remain true to her artistic vision despite pressure to adhere to the Hollywood image of a female star. Historical fiction fans will be drawn to this immersive portrait of the legendary actor.
