The Girls In The Picture: A Novel

“Girls could not be more timely—or troubling—about the treatment of women in the workplace. . . . [A] rich exploration of

two Hollywood friends who shaped the movies.”—USA Today

“One of the pleasures of The Girls in the Picture is its no-males-necessary alliance of two determined females—#TimesUp

before its time.”—NPR

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife, a fascinating novel of the

friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends—screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar

Mary Pickford.

It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the

lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone’s lips these days

is “flickers”—the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you’ll find

made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all.

In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes

the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title “America’s

Sweetheart.” The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create,

to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution.

But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender—and their astronomical

success could come at a price. As Mary, the world’s highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under

the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too,

longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and

even the deepest friendships might be shattered.

With cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish, The Girls in the

Picture is, at its heart, a story of friendship and forgiveness. Melanie Benjamin perfectly captures the dawn of a glittering

new era—its myths and icons, its possibilities and potential, and its seduction and heartbreak.