By, Kelly Kennedy, Social Media Editor
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a New York Times bestseller and a historical fiction novel detailing the fabulous and scandalous life of Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo. An actress known for her beauty, many husbands and risky films, Evelyn decides to tell the story of her life at the age of 79 to a young journalist so the world can know the real truth about her life.
Organized in sections dedicated to each husband, the reader gets to know all the juicy details and secrets of Evelyn’s life starting from her youth. Evelyn grew up as a poor Cuban American woman in New York City in the late 1940s, and after her mother died, she knew she had to get out of her abusive household.
Her life was less than glamorous, and all she ever dreamed of was moving to Hollywood to become a famous movie star. But at the age of 13, she had no money and no authority — all she had were her looks. Strikingly beautiful, young Evelyn used this to get her neighbor, Ernie Diaz, to fall in love with her. He was in his twenties and was about to move to Hollywood to work on film sets, so Evelyn married him to hitch a ride to the place where she knew she could get her career star ted.
Shortly after moving to Hollywood, Hugo is scouted out at a local diner by film producer Harry Cameron. She then gets her start by co-starring in romantic comedies, but she wasn’t moving up the ladder as quickly as she would like. Once again, she uses her beauty and her body to persuade the head of Sunset Studies, Ari Sullivan, to give her the role of Jo March in the upcoming adaptation of “Little Women.”
Evelyns’s career begins to skyrocket as “Little Women’’ begins filming. At this time she had already divorced her first husband and is now married to the golden boy of Hollywood, Don Adler. As one part of Hollywood’s newest it-couple, she’s loved by all for her beauty, and now she is also becoming known as a talented actress as well.
But most importantly, the set of “Little Women” is where Evelyn Hugo meets Celia St. James, a beautiful new actress starring as Beth March. At first Evelyn is intimidated and jealous of Celia’s pure talent, but instead the two decide to become friends to help each other grow in Hollywood. Celia would get fame by being seen with Evelyn, and Celia would teach Evelyn how to become a better actress. What started as a professional relationship turns into more as they spend more time together, and Evelyn begins to realize how she isn’t able to take her eyes off of her.
In a time in American history where homosexuality is unacceptable, Evelyn and Celia must keep their relationship completely hidden from the world or else risk losing their careers and way of life. Through the ups and downs of their relationships and life in Hollywood, Evelyn’s true lifestyle is completely unknown even while being one of the most famous women in the world. Known to all as one of the most provocative women in Hollywood because of her roles and many husbands, Evelyn continues to do whatever she can to grow her fame and keep her love for Celia a secret.
This novel takes the reader through the highs and lows of what it truly means to be a Hollywood star, with glamorous appearances but also the struggles behind the scenes. It pro- vides a true inside look to what life is really like as a woman in Hollywood, where the reader sees Evelyn often exploited for her body and for her beauty throughout her career. While those watching her onscreen see her life as mesmerizing and fabulous, Evelyn quickly learns that the fame she’s always dreamed of is much more difficult than she would have ever imagined.