All the Stars in the Heavens
A Novel
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4.2 • 214 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
New York Times Bestseller • USA Today Bestseller • Publishers Weekly Bestseller
People's Book of the Week
Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards Nominee for Fiction
Adriana Trigiani, the New York Times bestselling author of the blockbuster epic The Shoemaker's Wife, returns with her biggest and boldest novel yet, a hypnotic tale based on a true story and filled with her signature elements: family ties, artistry, romance, and adventure. Born in the golden age of Hollywood, All the Stars in the Heavens captures the luster, drama, power, and secrets that could only thrive in the studio system—viewed through the lives of an unforgettable cast of players creating magic on the screen and behind the scenes.
In this spectacular saga as radiant, thrilling, and beguiling as Hollywood itself, Adriana Trigiani takes us back to Tinsel Town's golden age—an era as brutal as it was resplendent—and into the complex and glamorous world of a young actress hungry for fame and success. With meticulous, beautiful detail, Trigiani paints a rich, historical landscape of 1930s Los Angeles, where European and American artisans flocked to pursue the ultimate dream: to tell stories on the silver screen.
The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he's already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly.
Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young's secretary, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.
Anchored by Trigiani's masterful storytelling that takes you on a worldwide ride of adventure from Hollywood to the shores of southern Italy, this mesmerizing epic is, at its heart, a luminous tale of the most cherished ties that bind. Brimming with larger-than-life characters both real and fictional—including stars Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, David Niven, Hattie McDaniel and more—it is it is the unforgettable story of one of cinema's greatest love affairs during the golden age of American movie making.
Praise for All the Stars in the Heavens:
"Trigiani spins a tale of star-crossed lovers... A heartwarming tale of women's lives behind the movies." - Kirkus Reviews
"A thoroughly entertaining tale that brings Hollywood's golden age alive." -People
"A tinsel-trimmed treat for movie buffs and Trigiani fans alike." -Library Journal
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Adriana Trigiani’s cinematic novel transports you to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Historical fiction fans will savor period details like wool swimsuits and five-cent movie tickets. But the real magic comes from Trigiani's smart, sympathetic characters, who happen to be the era’s movie stars: Loretta Young, Clark Gable, and Spencer Tracy. Caught in overlapping love triangles, these charismatic performers grapple with the fallout of their actions. Like a classic film, All the Stars in the Heavens takes its time, but by chapter 3, the pages turn themselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Trigiani's newest fictionalizes Loretta Young's life, both through her eyes and those of an invented personal secretary, whose closeness with the actress ties the narrative threads together. The author's (The Shoemaker's Wife) impeccable research and lush writing style recreates a plausible day-to-day look into the actress's life as a staunch Catholic living and working in Hollywood, beginning in the days of the Hays Code of 1930, which imposed strict moral rules on film content. The focus is on Young's close relationship with her mother and sisters, her affair with Spencer Tracy, her close friendship with David Niven, and most of all, her rumored romance with the married Clark Gable while shooting The Call of the Wild on location, as well as the extraordinary measures she went through to hide the subsequent pregnancy at a time when adultery and a child out of wedlock destroyed careers. Trigiani mines her own Italian roots with the character Alda Ducci, a young woman with her own secrets, who, as Loretta's secretary and friend, navigates the trials of love and fame with her. Eminently readable and richly imagined, Trigiani's latest will thrill her fans and surely collect new ones.
Customer Reviews
An interesting, good read
Having remembered how much my mother liked Loretta Young and that she always tuned into her TV show in the 1950s,plus have been an Adriana fan since first reading Big Stone Gap, it was easy to be drawn to this book. The tale unfolded seamlessly after the first chapter or two and became an intriguing chronicle that was one I wanted to finish reading to the end.
Live, Laugh, Love
I watched The Loretta Young Show when I was young. I remember how she impressed me. I never knew much about her but, after reading this book and learning her life story, I am more impressed by her. We are so often dazzled by an actor/actress but, we could never imagine what their personal life was like. I’m so glad I read this book. Those decades of Hollywood life, although glamorous, had a deeper reality in many lives. And, I am impressed by the stars of that era for they knew to Live, Laugh & Love.
All the Stars in the Heavens.
Delightful, touching, informative and highly entertaining. A superb story of faith and passion told with enormous style. Rich and satisfying. Highly recommended.