Roxanne Granville comes from a very rich family. Her grandparents own the very successful Empire movies. Her father, Rowland, is an actor in England and her mother Florence lives in Africa. Roxanne was raised by her grandparents, Leon and Julia. Roxanne always gest everything she wants, but things in life often change. And Roxanne's grandparents have been having problems of their own - Leon is having an affair with an actress named Denise.
When things come to a head with her grandfather, Roxanne has to fend for herself After her pampered upbringing, this is harder than she imagines. She tries to become an editor until her boss tries to take advantage of her. She eventually decides to start her own business. Roxanne starts to sell screenplays to studios, but their names are kept a secret because during the McCarthy era, many are considered communists, and it could be dangerous for them.
Roxanne meets a man named Terrance and they fall madly in love, but because he's African-American and she's white, their relationship is a struggle from the start. With her relationship strained, Roxanne's professional life also takes a turn for the worse... someone has discovered the identities of the screenwriters, and now she is blacklisted in Hollywood. Will things turn around for Roxanne, and can she and Terrance work things out?
I really enjoyed THE GREAT PRETENDERS by Laura Kalpakian. Even though I was pretty young in the 1950's I do recall some of this McCarthy era. However, I guess I really didn't think it was this bad. Kalpakian's book really got my attention that all of this was going on. I did like the romance between Roxanne and Terrance. Now a day's most people do not get upset about people of different backgrounds being together. But yet lately, there is so much hate in this world. In this book, it shows how bad things really were. If you enjoy historical fiction, be sure to check out THE GREAT PRETENDERS.
The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is
used to getting what she wantsβeven if she has to break the
rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a
powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for
the first time.β¦
Roxanne forges a career unique for women in the 1950s,
becoming an agent for hungry young screenwriters. She
struggles to be taken seriously by the men who rule
Hollywood and who often assume that sexual favors are just a
part of doing business. When she sells a script by a
blacklisted writer under the name of a willing front man,
more exiled writers seek her help. Roxanne wades into a
world murky with duplicity and deception, and she canβt
afford any more risks.
Then she meets Terrence Dexter, a compelling African
American journalist unlike anyone sheβs ever known. Roxanne
again breaks the rules, and is quickly swept up in a
passionate relationship with very real dangers that could
destroy everything sheβs carefully built.
Roxanne Granville is a woman who bravely defies convention.
She wonβt let men make all the rules, and wonβt let skin
color determine whom she can love. The Great Pretenders is a
riveting, emotional novel that resonates in todayβs world,
and reminds us that some things are worth fighting for.
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