Melting the Snow on Hester Street

They saved each other once. Can they save each other again?

It is the blistering summer of 1929 and Hollywood’s glamorous set appear to have it all. Everybody everywhere is living the Hollywood dream, including the elegant and charming, high-society couple, actor and actress Maximilian and Eleanor Beecham. But beneath the sophistication and glamour their insecure and unhappy marriage is on the brink of divorce and their finances are teetering on a knife’s edge after a series of failed films.

When the creditors come in to take possession of the house, it seems all is lost and they have nowhere to turn but into the arms of their waiting lovers.

But when they receive an invitation to one of the legendary weekend house parties at Hearst Castle – which they know will be filled every Hollywood big-shot around – they cannot resist one last shot of making it in the film industry. With gossip, glamour, scandal and decadence the party is the epitome of the Golden Era, but for Maximilian and Eleanor the time has come to make a decision that will change their future.

Will they sacrifice everything for fame and fortune or can Eleanor and Maximilian learn to love each other again?

Reviews

‘unputdownable’ DAILY MAIL

"The delicately constructed plot keeps you guessing until the end … Waugh creates the early Hollywood world with verve and conviction in this taut, clever and moving novel" TLS

"dazzlingly evoked" Sunday Times

‘A lubricious new novel … period charm and sexual intrigue’ TATLER

‘A dizzy tale about greed, love, fame and money.’ **** HEAT

‘Gripping, glamorous and poignant, it’s a cracking tale that will keep you hooked from beginning to end’ HELLO!

‘Sunset Boulevard meets Nancy Mitford’ RED

‘This reminded me of Liza Klaussmann’s Tigers in Red Weather… a great companion piece for all the Gatsby fuss around this month… An absorbing, glamorous read.’ Viv Groskop, RED BOOK CLUB

‘gripping… powerful, evocative’ THE LADY

"Waugh blends fact and fiction in an intoxicating tale of life under the glittering veneer of Tinsel Town" Daily Record

About the author

Daisy Waugh used to write a weekly newspaper column from Los Angeles about her attempts to become a Hollywood scriptwriter. Today she writes two weekly columns for the Sunday Times. She and her family live in London. This is her sixth novel.