Elsa Emerson grows up in small town Wisconsin, in a household that is also the local playhouse theater. Every summer, young actors come and stay with the family and put on shows in the converted barn, inspiring a love of show business in Elsa and her two younger sisters Hildy and Josephine.

Elsa makes her escape from her small town life by marrying an aspiring actor who is heading for Hollywood, a move that becomes a misery to her but also the vehicle to the life she wants. When she meets studio manager Irving Green, he turns out to be the answer to her dreams, both personal and professional. He changes her from a wholesome blonde to a sexy brunette, and gives her a new name of Laura Lamont. For awhile, her life is perfect. But life doesn't offer nicely packaged happy endings like is seen in the movies. Laura's life goes through a lot of twists and turns before it's all over and done.

With her debut novel, LAURA LAMONT'S LIFE IN PICTURES, author Emma Straub takes her readers right to the golden days of the Hollywood. She gives a great depiction of how the movie studio system worked back then, where the studio took over every aspect of the actor's life. Straub also scatters some great cameos throughout her story with cleverly disguised celebrities, such as Lucille Ball, Jack Warner, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, interacting with the main character Laura as she negotiates the tricky life of show business.

LAURA LAMONT'S LIFE IN PICTURES is a captivating look at Old Hollywood, and is a fast-moving adventure that readers, especially fans of the Golden Age of Film, are sure to enjoy.