Such Mad Fun: Ambition and Glamour in Hollywood's Golden Days

AVAILABLE IN ALL FORMATS SEPT 8, 2016 What determines who a woman will become? Jane Hall was an orphan at fifteen and a "literary prodigy" according to the press. How did this spirited young girl from an Arizona mining town become a Depression-era debutante, a successful author of magazine fiction, and a screenwriter at Hollywood's most glamorous studio? At Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Jane wrote the story and the script for the "best social comedy of 1939," These Glamour Girls, and established a lively camaraderie with F. Scott Fitzgerald, who worked in the office next door to hers. But Jane's ambition conflicted with the expectations of her family, her friends, and the era in which she lived. Drawing on her mother's diaries and scores of letters, historian Robin Cutler takes us on an unforgettable journey through 1930s Manhattan and Hollywood as Jane wrestles with who she was meant to be. Such Mad Fun is a coming-of-age story set in a decade that has surprising parallels with American life today. For much more: www.robinrcutler.com. FROM THE ADVANCE REVIEWS: ". . . . In this well-researched account . . . the author thoughtfully examines the allure and trap of glamour. In this, Hall's story mirrors those of many female professionals even today, who face immense pressures to maintain a certain look. Hall's brushes with Hollywood and literary celebrities make great reading . . . This portrait of a more literary mass-market America offers much food for reflection on modern culture. A valuable, absorbing contribution to the history of women, golden-age Hollywood, and America's magazine culture of the 1930s and '40s. " KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW " . . . an always fascinating tribute to a complex woman torn between home and career . . .Also revealing are the synopses of Jane Hall's short stories and screenplays, which illuminate the kinds of stories women were writing and reading--and watching--in that era of glossy surfaces and incipient rebellion." MOLLY HASKELL, author of From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies "Such Mad Fun is . . . a seamless story of twentieth century life narrated with style and verve and empathy." SCOTT EYMAN, New York Times bestselling author of John Wayne: The Life and Legend and twelve other books. "A beautifully written page-turner of Hollywood's Golden Age and the role of the woman wunderkind writer who ws the author's mother. In the end you'll understand better your twentith-century matriarchs, and most likely yourself." BETTY BOOKER, long-time reporter and columnist, Richmond Times-Dispatch and Boomer Magazine ". . . a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the studio system during its heyday . . . Cutler ably brings to life the milieus, both social and professional that Jane Hall inhabited during a fascinating life." RICHARD A. FINE, author of West of Eden: Hollywood and the Profession of Authorship. Cutler is pitch-perfect in her description of the glittering social worlds of 1930's New York and Hollywood. . . .Written with the momentum of a page-turning novel, Robin Cutler's excellent new book is a must read. LINDSAY C. GIBSON, PSY.D. author of Who You Were Meant to Be: A Guide to Finding or Recovering Your Life's Purpose.

Review :
WINNER 2016 FOREWORD INDIES GOLD FOR BIOGRAPHY . . . In this well-researched account . . . the author thoughtfully examines the allure and trap of glamour. In this, Hall's story mirrors those of many female professionals even today, who face immense pressures to maintain a certain look. Hall's brushes with Hollywood and literary celebrities make great reading. Fitzgerald gave her an inscribed copy of Tender Is the Night ("the book may have been his warning to Jane about . . . the seductive power of wealth, alcohol, and a world of superficiality and showiness"). This portrait of a more literary mass-market America offers much food for reflection on modern culture. A valuable, absorbing contribution to the history of women, golden-age Hollywood, and America's magazine culture of the 1930s and '40s. KIRKUS --NAMED TO KIRKUS REVIEWS' BEST BOOKS OF 2016 Such Mad Fun is about the golden age of Hollywood, about mothers and daughters, about the ways people disappoint each other and themselves. It's a seamless story of twentieth- century life narrated with style and verve and empathy. SCOTT EYMAN, author of the New York Times bestseller John Wayne: The Life and Legend and twelve other books. . . . .an always fascinating tribute to a complex woman torn between home and career. Diary entries provide a window into the mixed emotions of a gallant woman trying to live an independent life, but shaped by the expectations of her class and time. Also revealing are the synopses of Jane's short stories and screenplays, which illuminate the kinds of stories women were writing and reading - and watching - in that era of glossy surfaces and incipient rebellion. MOLLY HASKELL, critic and author of From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies and the best-selling memoir My Brother My Sister. Such Mad Fun adds much to our understanding of Depression-era American culture in this biography of Jane Hall. . . . It provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the studio system during its heyday and it reminds us of the many challenges women of talent faced as they pursued their ambitions. Cutler. . . ably brings to life the milieus, both social and professional, Jane Hall inhabited during a fascinating life. RICHARD A. FINE, Professor of English, Virginia Commonwealth University, and author of West of Eden: Hollywood and the Profession of Authorship. If you want to understand the power of a woman's professional identity - and the effects of giving it up too soon - read this compelling story of ambition and success in 1930s Hollywood and New York. I hope "Such Mad Fun" inspires readers, especially women, to pursue their talents no matter what. Thoroughly researched, this is a beautifully written history of Hollywood's Golden Age, and the role of the woman wunderkind writer who was the author's mother. In the end, you'll understand better your twentieth-century matriarchs, and most likely yourself. All my "womankin" are getting copies of Such Mad Fun. I hope this page-turner teaches them to never surrender their talents and brainpower BETTY BOOKER, specialist in generational writing, long-time reporter/columnist, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch and Boomer Magazine Robin Cutler is pitch-perfect in her description of the glittering social worlds of 1930's New York and Hollywood . . . Working from her mother's writings and diaries, Cutler crafts an absorbing coming-of-age story that shows what it took for a brilliant young woman to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter. . . . Written with the momentum of a page-turning novel, Such Mad Fun is a must read . LINDSAY C. GIBSON, Psy.D, author of Who You Were Meant To Be: A Guide to Finding or Recovering Your Life's Purpose. FOR EXCERPTS FROM VANITY FAIR HOLLYWOO0, THE DAILY BEAST, SEVERAL BLOGGERS AND MUCH MORE SEE https: //robinrcutler.com/press/