Hazel Riley and Maxine Mead meet each other during WW2 when they are performing in Europe for the troops. Later on and back in the United States, the Chelsea Hotel plays a central role as Hazel tries her hand at being a screenwriter and Maxine strives to become a famous actress. But, the 50s is a dangerous time as Senator Joseph McCarthy has started a witch hunt for Communists and he\'s going after those in the entertainment industry. It doesn\'t take much to be a suspect Communist.
THE CHELSEA GIRLS appealed both for the time period and for taking place in such an iconic hotel. I\'ve read THE MASTERPIECE by the author before and just like that book this is an excellent historical fiction. I think that the dealing of the Communist hunt made this book extra special to read in that it showed how paranoid the US was at that time that even the smallest allegations could ruin one's life. Also, this book has one of the best plot twists I\'ve for a really long while. A truly jaw-dropping moment. I really liked this book, I loved reading about the friendship between Hazel and Maxine and I loved the setting of Chelsea Hotel. This book really makes me eager to read the books by Fiona Davis I\'ve yet to read.
The bright lights of the theater district, the glamour and danger of 1950s New York, and the wild scene at the iconic Chelsea Hotel come together in a dazzling new novel about a twenty-year friendship that will irrevocably change two women's lives—from the national bestselling author of The Dollhouse and The Address.
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.
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