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by Fiona Davis
A dazzling new novel about the twenty-year friendship that will irrevocably change two women's lives.
From the dramatic redbrick facade to the sweeping staircase dripping with art, the Chelsea Hotel has long been New York City's creative oasis for the many artists, writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and poets who have called it home—a scene playwright Hazel Riley and actress Maxine Mead are determined to use to their advantage. Yet they soon discover that the greatest obstacle to putting up a show on Broadway has nothing to do with their art, and everything to do with politics. A Red scare is sweeping across America, and Senator Joseph McCarthy has started a witch hunt for Communists, with those in the entertainment industry in the crosshairs. As the pressure builds to name names, it is more than Hazel and Maxine's Broadway dreams that may suffer as they grapple with the terrible consequences, but also their livelihood, their friendship, and even their freedom.
Spanning from the 1940s to the 1960s, The Chelsea Girls deftly pulls back the curtain on the desperate political pressures of McCarthyism, the complicated bonds of female friendship, and the siren call of the uninhibited Chelsea Hotel.
"Featuring vibrant, witty characters who not only weather but thrive in a dark period of American history, Davis's tale of one friendship's strength will stun and satisfy readers." - Publishers Weekly
"This novel in three acts brings to vivid life the McCarthy era and its impact on the entertainment industry in a heartbreaking tale of the friendship of two brave women." - Library Journal
"A forced effort to leverage interest around the legendary Chelsea Hotel, this novel is a miss." - Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating and wholly immersive celebration of friendship, love, loyalty, and courage during a turbulent and often underrepresented period in American history, The Chelsea Girls will delight. Davis brings her setting to life as she whisks readers away to the iconic Chelsea Hotel and the theater world during the McCarthy era. Richly detailed and transporting, historical fiction fans will love this one!" - Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of When We Left Cuba
"The Chelsea Girls is an entirely delightful example of Fiona Davis's inventive and winning approach to historical fiction. The dazzling allure of Broadway, the devastating consequences of McCarthyism, the delights of the legendary Chelsea Hotel, and above all the decades-long friendship of Hazel and Maxine—Davis weaves these narrative threads into a memorable, affecting and marvelously entertaining novel." - Jennifer Robson, internationally bestselling author of The Gown
"In her most impressive and ambitious novel yet, Davis has given us an expertly plotted and emotional tale of the aftermath of war, the insidious way that fear-mongering can divide us, and the unexpected ways that art brings us together...This is one of the most powerful and moving stories of female friendship I have ever read." - Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Wartime Sisters
"A dazzling story of loyalty, friendship, and betrayal in 1950s Bohemian New York amid the danger of the Red Scare. It will leave readers wishing they could spend a night at the Chelsea Hotel for a taste of Broadway glamour and a well-shaken cocktail." - Julia Kelly, award-winning author of The Light Over London
"The Chelsea Girls is the thoroughly engrossing story of an authentic and complex female friendship under the intense pressures of the Cold War. Replete with international secrets and theatrical triumphs, it sings with the nuances, trials, and celebrations of real friendship in the darkest of times. A must-read for you and your best friends!" - Kerri Maher, author of The Kennedy Debutante
"We all want friends like 'the Chelsea girls.' A winning mix of historic challenges and enduring ties between two remarkable women makes Fiona Davis's latest novel a must-read." - Stephanie Barron, author of That Churchill Woman
"A spell-binding tale of a decades-long friendship between two talented women, presented against a backdrop of political conspiracy, infused with the glamour of Hollywood and Broadway, and set in that ramshackle headquarters of New York bohemia, the iconic Chelsea Hotel. In The Chelsea Girls, the spirits of America's mid-century arts scene rise up to frolic again. Brava!" - Sherill Tippins, author of Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York's Legendary Chelsea Hotel
This information about The Chelsea Girls was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: © Deborah Feingold
Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of six historical fiction novels set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Magnolia Palace, The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was a Good Morning America book club pick. Her novels have been chosen as "One Book, One Community" reads and her articles have appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and O the Oprah magazine.
She first came to New York as an actress, but fell in love with writing after getting a master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages and she's based in New York City.
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