THE CHELSEA GIRLS BY FIONA DAVIS
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.
We have completed chapters 1-7 and have had a wonderful discussion. So much went on in those first seven chapters, it was a whirlwind. Hopefully we will settle down into the story now. So far this is an EH, read for me. I am truly hoping to get hooked these next chapters. I love The Chelsea Hotel history. I love the GOLDEN AGE and BROADWAY. So here’s hoping I will like this book! If nothing else it is always great fun to read this with book friends and discuss it throughly. The thoughtful kind way we discuss books every single Sunday is a gift. Something I look forward to every week.
