Very good book about Mary Maguire, who leapt to national fame when cast in Charles Chauvel's Heritage. This led to a role in The Flying Doctor which led to a brief overseas movie career in Hollywood and England.
Maguire was blessed with incredible luck for the first part of her life and career - loving, wealthy family, looks and personality, film stardom... she attracted the devotion of old, rich and powerful men who helped her career (Miles Mander, Joe Schenck) and married a super rich war hero in England. Then her luck turned... the husband was a fascist who was interned for two years, she had a child who died, the life went out of her movie career, she became an alcoholic.
To be frank a lot of her problems were her own fault - no one forced her to drink or marry a fascist, and if she really liked acting she would've kept doing it. Still, you feel for her.
Adams does the story justice. Particularly enthralling is the war time stuff, the tale of her husband's imprisonment and activities (seems he was harshly dealt with but such a sh*t head it's hard to care). Maguire's sisters were also fascinating. I wasn't sure there was going to be enough material for a book but this stuff ensures it is.
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