Our Leading Lady

Set in Washington, DC, in 1865, the play is about Laura Keene, the British-born stage actress whose company was performing Tom Taylor¿s Our American Cousin at Ford¿s Theatre the night Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth. In classic Charles Busch fashion, Our Leading Lady is a backstage comedy in which a presidential assassination is not merely a national tragedy but also a vexing interruption in a powerful woman¿s quest for fame and glory. Imagine the collision of the Civil War era with Noises Off.

The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, sharing behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms. When Sherry Lansing became the first woman ever to be named president of a major studio, the news ricocheted around the world. That was just the beginning of an extraordinary run that saw her head two studios, make hundreds of films, produce classic pictures such as Fatal Attraction and rule for twenty-five years as the most powerful woman Hollywood has ever known. Award-winning writer Stephen Galloway takes us behind the scenes of Lansing's epic journey—inside the battles; up close with the stars; and into the heart of a creative world populated by the likes of Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise. He shows us the velvet touch that masked the iron hand, and the roller-coaster drama behind such movies as Titanic, Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan. Above all, he takes us into the mind of Lansing, creating a revealing portrait of a dynamic, driven woman who overcame unimaginable odds, pushed boundaries and left Hollywood at the peak of her power to achieve the life she wanted.

Alex is America’s wholesome heartthrob, but he's ready to take his career in an edgier direction. He’ll do whatever it takes to get the coveted role of the villainous Lucas Steel right, even if that means agreeing to a fake relationship with a mysterious consultant, who will roughen up his public image and teach him how to portray the dark and ruthless character. Elena thrives on control, never letting anyone get too close, but her well-ordered life is upended when superstar Alex Chase swaggers in one night with an offer too tempting to ignore--no matter how much she wants to wipe the smug grin off his face. All Alex and Elena have to do is make it through a month in the spotlight without killing each other or crossing professional boundaries, but the fake dating handbook fails to mention how to proceed when the attraction is all too real. Elena discovers there are hidden depths to this Hollywood Pretty Boy, and her steely control melts in his presence, making her want to surrender to him completely. Alex falls fast for the intimidating woman who's challenging him to explore his dark side, but he struggles to trust it's real when he's used to everyone catering to his fame. With a secret from Elena’s past hanging between them and both of their careers on the line, they'll have to decide whether their singular connection is worth risking it all.

One of The New Yorker's favorite nonfiction book of 2019 | A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Named one of Vogue's "17 Books We Can't Wait to Read This Fall" "Compulsively readable . . . ravenously consuming . . . manna from heaven . . . If ever someone knew how to put a genuinely irresistible book together, it's Jacobs in Still Here." —Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News Still Here is the first full telling of Elaine Stritch’s life. Rollicking but intimate, it tracks one of Broadway’s great personalities from her upbringing in Detroit during the Great Depression to her fateful move to New York City, where she studied alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte. We accompany Elaine through her jagged rise to fame, to Hollywood and London, and across her later years, when she enjoyed a stunning renaissance, punctuated by a turn on the popular television show 30 Rock. We explore the influential—and often fraught—collaborations she developed with Noël Coward, Tennessee Williams, and above all Stephen Sondheim, as well as her courageous yet flawed attempts to control a serious drinking problem. And we see the entertainer triumphing over personal turmoil with the development of her Tony Award–winning one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which established her as an emblem of spiky independence and Manhattan life for an entirely new generation of admirers. In Still Here, Alexandra Jacobs conveys the full force of Stritch’s sardonic wit and brassy charm while acknowledging her many dark complexities. Following years of meticulous research and interviews, this is a portrait of a powerful, vulnerable, honest, and humorous figure who continues to reverberate in the public consciousness.

A biography of a leading actress of the Moscow Art Theatre who became the wife of Anton Chekhov three years before his death.

Hollywood icon Betty White and actor Tom Sullivan present the story of a guide dog named Dinah and the extraordinary difference she made in every life she touched. Beloved actress Betty White is a bona fide television pioneer, but throughout her life, her heart has always been with the animals. One of the most enriching episodes in her career as an animal-rights advocate arrived with actor Tom Sullivan. Blind since birth, Tom was one of Betty’s closest friends and professional partners. Their dearest collaboration was a mutual devotion to a golden retriever named Dinah. This first-class guide dog was more than Tom's best friend, she was a source of unqualified loyalty and love. Most important, she enabled Tom to be truly independent for the first time in his life. However as Dinah got older, as her faculties weakened and her confidence faltered, Tom had little choice but to get a new dog. The effect of losing her purpose was devastating to the once-gallant Dinah. Then Betty gladly stepped in to give this great Lady a new lease on life. What would transpire is a heartening and inspiring story of a dog who made a difference and who, in Betty White’s words, “helped Tom grow up as she has helped me grow older.” It is for all animal lovers, for all Betty White lovers, and everyone who can relate to the unconditional devotion of dogs and the people who love them. INCLUDES PHOTOS

The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, sharing behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms. When Sherry Lansing became the first woman ever to be named president of a major studio, the news ricocheted around the world. That was just the beginning of an extraordinary run that saw her head two studios, make hundreds of films, produce classic pictures such as Fatal Attraction and rule for twenty-five years as the most powerful woman Hollywood has ever known. Award-winning writer Stephen Galloway takes us behind the scenes of Lansing's epic journey—inside the battles; up close with the stars; and into the heart of a creative world populated by the likes of Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise. He shows us the velvet touch that masked the iron hand, and the roller-coaster drama behind such movies as Titanic, Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan. Above all, he takes us into the mind of Lansing, creating a revealing portrait of a dynamic, driven woman who overcame unimaginable odds, pushed boundaries and left Hollywood at the peak of her power to achieve the life she wanted.

Marie James is ready to step up, show off, and get hers. Though twenty might be young in the green-pastured suburbs of Ohio, the streets of Dayton have raised Marie. With two young babies and her sisters to support, Marie has learned how to hustle with what she knows best. For Marie, men are useful only as protectors and providers. With her beauty, style, and a juiciness that men crave after the first taste, she can pull in a hundred dollars in less than five minutes, granting her access to some of the neighborhoods most powerful men. But will her path to become a talented leading lady carry her and her family to a better life, or are the stakes of this dangerous game too high? And will her youngest daughter, Harmony, end up following in her footsteps? In this novel, a single mother works hard to take care of her family the best way she knows how, but the life she leads may endanger her children, leading one daughter down a risky path.