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    A Touch of Stardust: A Novel
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    A Touch of Stardust: A Novel
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    A Touch of Stardust: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Touch of Stardust: A Novel

    Written by Kate Alcott

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker comes a blockbuster novel that takes you behind the scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind, while turning the spotlight on the passionate romance between its dashing leading man, Clark Gable, and the blithe, free-spirited actress Carole Lombard. 

    When Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood, she never imagines she'll cross paths with Carole Lombard, the dazzling actress from Julie's provincial Midwestern hometown. The young woman has dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but the only job Julie's able to find is one in the studio publicity office of the notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick, who is busy burning through directors, writers, and money as he films Gone with the Wind.

    Although tensions run high on the set, Julie finds she can step onto the back lot, take in the smell of smoky gunpowder and the soft rustle of hoop skirts, and feel the magical world of Gone with the Wind come to life. Julie's access to real-life magic comes when Carole Lombard hires her as an assistant and invites her into the glamorous world Carole shares with Clark Gable, who is about to move into movie history as the dashing Rhett Butler.

    Carole Lombard, happily profane and uninhibited, makes no secret of her relationship with Gable, which poses something of a problem for the studio because Gable is technically still married-and the last thing the film needs is more negative publicity. Julie is there to fend off the overly curious reporters, hoping to prevent details about the affair from slipping out. But she can barely keep up with her blond employer, let alone control what comes out of Carole's mouth, and-as their friendship grows-Julie soon finds she doesn't want to. Carole, both wise and funny, becomes Julie's model for breaking free of the past.

    In the ever-widening scope of this story, Julie is given a front-row seat to not one but two of the greatest love affairs of all time: the undeniable on-screen chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett, and offscreen, the deepening love between Carole and Clark. Yet beneath the shiny façade, things in Hollywood are never quite what they seem, and Julie must learn to balance her career aspirations and her own budding romance with the outsized personalities and overheated drama on set. Vivid, romantic, and filled with Old Hollywood details, A Touch of Stardust will entrance, surprise, and delight.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 17, 2015
    ISBN9781101889435
    Unavailable
    A Touch of Stardust: A Novel

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    Reviews for A Touch of Stardust

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    • 3/5
      For more reviews, gifs, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.Last year, I read Kate Alcott’s The Daring Ladies of Lowell, which I really enjoyed. Naturally, when I saw the audiobook come up for her next book, I immediately downloaded, thrilled. It almost wouldn’t have mattered what the subject matter was, but certainly the Old Hollywood theme didn’t hurt my interest at all. A Touch of Stardust didn’t end up grabbing me the same way Daring Ladies did, but let’s be real that’s probably because I didn’t care about the ship in this one.A Touch of Stardust uses the production of Gone with the Wind as the frame for the novel’s events. Julie Crawford, a college graduate from Fort Wayne, heads to LA with big dreams of screenwriting and manages to get a job in the publicity office for David O. Selznick, producer of Gone with the Wind. Or maybe I should say that she GOT a job, since she promptly gets fired for not delivering a message quickly enough. However, that doesn’t really end up mattering, since she impresses Andy Weinstein, an assistant producer, who hooks her up with Carole Lombard, who gives her a new job.Julie and Andy are both fictional, but most of the other figures were actual people. Obviously adding in a purely fictional main character offers a bit more distance, meaning there’s somewhat less need to fabricate the events occurring to the actual people. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that Julie just wasn’t as interesting as the others around her. Despite her talents, she spent most of the book feeling like no one in particular, a character there for self-insertion.This feeling that Julie was mostly a shell was exacerbated by the un-reality of her experience. She knew nobody but ended up getting hired thanks to the connections of an assistant producer who thought she was cute and spunky, based on pretty much nothing. Her whole job seems to consist of hanging out with Carole and very occasionally making calls. Perhaps Carole Lombard really did hire people for this, I don’t know. I’d certainly take that job.Though I absolutely hate Gone with the Wind (I didn’t even make it through the whole movie), the production details were fascinating. I loved all the squabbles on set, the power plays and alliances. For example, Lombard got to hang out there even though the morality police didn’t approve of Clark and Carole, since Clark wasn’t yet divorced from his wife.Andy and Julie had a nice enough romance, I guess, but I really couldn’t ship them. The thing is that Andy’s a good deal older than Julie. That alone doesn’t have to be a shipping dealbreaker, but his nickname for her is “kid,” which just makes the whole thing uncomfortable for me. What I liked most about their plot line was the way it was affected by Nazi Germany. Weinstein’s concerns about his family and the war made a nice counterpoint to the superficiality of Hollywood.The real stars of this book are Gable and Lombard, which isn’t surprising, since I suspect they were Alcott’s primary interest. Julie’s first attempt at a script is a thinly veiled romance between two characters like Lombard and Gable; Julie is a romantic and believes deeply in their love. In the afterword, Alcott says that she feels similarly towards those two, and I think that’s why the spark and fire of the book is all about them.My gut instincts tell me that Alcott’s A Touch of Stardust won’t be a particularly memorable read, but I did enjoy listening to it. Most of all, Alcott made me curious about Lombard and Gable, actors I know little about.
    • 3/5
      I thought this book was very well-written. The accuracy of the facts incorporated into the fictional characters added a dimension that I am struggling to describe, but I liked it. I expected there to be more drama from the description of the book, and I admit that I would have enjoyed the book more had there been. That said, it was still a lovely book and I highly recommend it to historical fiction readers.
    • 5/5
      I think Kate Alcott has a heroine type. Strong, but needing to discover that at the beginning of the story, doesn’t believe she is pretty, but is in fact very eye catching, clever, wide-eyed and then learns the ropes, triumphs over challenges, and at the end of our journey with her, knows what she wants for the future and takes clear-eyed steps in that direction.I like these heroines. I like that they are all in the same vain, and that I know what I’m getting from Alcott. They are typically the everywoman that readers can see the world/timeframe through. This is all to say that I liked this novel, and really liked a lot of the characters, but the one character I would have really loved to spend a book with, I didn’t get. I was heartbroken to read author note at the end with the conclusions of the actors of Gone With The Wind, but absolutely devastated about Carole Lombard’s death. Yes, in the real world this was more than 50 years ago. But in my reader’s world, I just left her alive and hopeful. I wish the entire book could have been from her view, and I think she was by far the best drawn character, and will search out lots of biographies moving forward. The other characters, including the heroine, are likable and sympathetic but not as clearly defined as the characters in past novels. A fun read, but I would recommend her other novels first.
    • 3/5
      I thought this book was very well-written. The accuracy of the facts incorporated into the fictional characters added a dimension that I am struggling to describe, but I liked it. I expected there to be more drama from the description of the book, and I admit that I would have enjoyed the book more had there been. That said, it was still a lovely book and I highly recommend it to historical fiction readers.
    • 3/5
      About gone with the wind
    • 2/5
      Strictly chick lit tale of a young girl who leaves Ft. Wayne, Indiana in search of Hollywood stardom She meets Carol Lombard and becomes her personal assistant based solely on the fact that they are both from Ft. Wayne. Then, because Carol Lombard is involved with Clark Gable, we get a secondary plot on the filming of Gone With the Wind. And on the set, out heroine meets her love interest who appears to be a special assistant to David Selznick. You get the picture. Strictly an airplane book
    • 4/5
      This is an entertaining story of a Midwestern girl, Julie, who has moved to Hollywood and gets a job on the set of "Gone With the Wind" - that leads to a job with Carole Lombard, who is married to Clark Gable, the star of the movie. As Julie pursues her own career as a struggling screenwriter and gets involved with producer David O. Selznik's assistant, who is Jewish, war breaks out in Europe which serves as a backdrop for these characters. I would recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Alcott, Kate. A Touch of Stardust. 9 CDs. unabridged. 11 hrs. Books on Tape. 2015. ISBN 9781101889442. Alcott (The Dressmaker, The Daring Ladies of Lowell) brings to life the glitter and glamour of old Hollywood in this exciting and eye opening novel. Indiana native, Julie Crawford, flees her Midwestern roots and heads to the bright lights of Hollywood. She finds a minor job on the set of Gone with the Wind but quickly moves up the ranks when Carole Lombard (a fellow Hoosier) takes her under her wing. Carole a gorgeous, uninhabited, scandalous actress helps Julie acclimate to the dog eat dog world of Hollywood. With Carole's encouragement, Julie pursues her dream of becoming a screenwriter and learns to let go of the past. With the set of Gone with the Wind as their playground, the two Hoosier pals learn that they have more in common then they ever thought possible. Narrated beautifully by the prolific voice actress Cassandra Campbell, who skillfully brings to life an wonderful cast of characters. Filled with interesting Hollywood factoids, romance, and humor, this tale will delight readers and entice them to pick up some classic movies. For fans of glitz, glamour, romance, and old Hollywood. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN
    • 5/5
      It was nice to have an all day read and this book was the perfect accompaniment. I enjoy reading stories of old Hollywood and was interested in how Kate Alcott intertwined so many different threads of that time period. I was sad when it ended, wishing this was the first of a series. Well done and I would recommend this along with your favorite tea and a lazy day!
    • 4/5
      While Gone With the Wind definitely takes a prime section of the book, (after all, it is going to become a classic), a couple of gals from Fort Wayne, Indiana are who the story really revolves around. Julie Crawford, newly graduated from Smith College, heads to California for a year, to try to make it big in the screenwriting business. Through happenstance, one of her first real jobs is to be an assistant to Carole Lombard, always near the set of GWTW, keeping an eye on Clark Gable as they wait for his divorce papers to finalize. Alcott did a wonderful job blending in her fictitious characters with real characters from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I really enjoyed the whole story, whether it was the tidbits about the making of GWTW, the slightly historical insider's view of the Lombard/Gable romance, the specter of the coming war or just the scenes at Julie's boarding house, with her new friend, Rose. Scott Fitzgerald even wandered through the background, one of a cadre of screenwriters who were called upon to brush up the GWTW script. After reading West of Sunset earlier this year, it was a neat cameo. I think that both fans of GWTW and the Golden Age of Hollywood will like this peek into this era.
    • 3/5
      Delightful journey into the scenes behind the making of Gone with the wind and a glimpse into Hollywood a breath away from WWII. My 75th book for the 75 book challenge.
    • 5/5
      A young lady named Julie Crawford leaves her home in Indiana to try to make it as a writer in the Hollywood of the 1930's. She gets her first job as a peon on the set of Gone with the Wind. She meets a love interest named Andy who happens to be Jewish which complicates their relationship. Also, her mentor becomes the actress Carole Lombard who happens to be there because of her relationship with Clark Gable. This is wonderfully written and effortless to read and a must for film lovers or the movie GWTW as the reader gets an inside look at the many ups and downs of its production.
    • 2/5
      I don't usually read fiction - instead preferring biographies/autobiographies from those of Hollywood' Golden Age. I thought I would try this book since it uses my favorite film (Gone With the Wind) as a backdrop. What a disappointment. When I read the part about Edith Head whipping up the white dress Scarlett wears at the beginning of the film, I wanted to stop reading right there and then. Yes, the book is fiction, but it is based on historical facts and Edith Head did NOT participate in GWTW. It is an easy fact to check. The only shining light in this book is the author's portrayal of Carole Lombard. She is the only character with life and that rings true. Even the section on the premiere of GWTW in Atlanta, lacks the excitement as found in books such as John Wiley's The Scarlett Letters. This may seem like a good book for those who aren't familiar with the time period and subjects, but I suggest you read some of the actual books such as Fireball by Robert Matzen on Carole Lombard or Long Live the King by Lyn Tornabene for more accurate information.
    • 4/5
      Most people don't know it, but I'm a big Gone With the Wind fan. So to have found this bit of fiction set during the making of GWTW was a real treat. Julie is a young graduate from Fort Wayne who's come to Hollywood. She lucks into a job with David O. Selznick, the producer of GWTW. From there she meets Andy Weinstein, a Selznick staffer and love interest, and eventually encounters most of Tinseltown's glitterati of the 1930s, finally becoming Carole Lombard's personal assistant. The book is sprinkled with details of the movie's making, the volatile personalities of the filmmakers and cast, and the underlying themes of prejudice both at home and in Nazi Germany. An enjoyable read, nicely paced. Looking forward to adding it to my library!
    • 5/5
      All the big names of glamorous Hollywood are here - Gable, Lombard, Vivian Leigh. It is the set of the movie that will set a new standard for the screen, "Gone With the Wind" but there is trouble in paradise. Plagued with a new director each week,scores of bad publicity and drama, the set of GWTW makes for the perfect backdrop to the fictional life of one young woman seeking fame and fortune as a screenwriter. Julie lands in Hollywood only to luck out working for Carole Lombard as an assistant. This plucky lady is trying to juggle her own career and micromanage that of her future husband, Clark Gable. Carole sees a spark in Julie and encourages her to stick her neck out there and write screenplays.Of course, there is a love interest and Hollywood lifestyle that is not welcomed by Julie's Midwestern parents. Things are not as glamorous as they appear in the movies but Kate Alcott gives us a refreshing behind the scenes look at one of our beloved movies. The good, bad and ugly surround the set and opening night as we get a glimpse of Hollywood before we joined the fighting in Europe. The magic on one side of the camera did not tell the truth on the other side as the book explores racism and bigotry as easily as the glamor of old Hollywood. I would have loved to have been a guest at Clark and Carole's ranch and heard first hand the juicy gossip about the filming of "Gone With the Wind" and Kate Alcott takes us there in "A Touch of Stardust". My thanks to the publisher for an advance copy.
    • 4/5
      A great piece of historical fiction set around the filming of Gone with the Wind. Famous actors like Clark Gable and Carole Lombard come alive, as well as the tensions of race and ethnicity in pre-WWII America. I loved the Hollywood setting and characters I could relate to. Highly recommended to any fans of historical fiction!
    • 3/5
      I love Carole Lombard and I love GWTW; I like "A Touch of Stardust", but I don't come close to loving it.. The story for the most part is a very pleasant one - except for a subplot which has been done many times with nothing new added - whose timeline follows the filming of the movie. However, the principal characters are not film stars, rather they are Julie, a recent Smith College grad, and Andy, a Jewish assistant to GWTW producer David Selznick. Andy's heritage is significant because GWTW was released in 1939, just prior to WWII, the Holocaust, etc., etc. Julie miraculously becomes personal assistant and friend of Lombard, who at the time, is waiting for Gable's 2nd wife to OK a divorce so that Ma and Pa can wed. In the meantime, Julie meets the much older Andy whose grandparents have refused to leave Germany - and you can guess the rest. We learn of all the tender moments between Ma and Pa, Pa's dentures, bad breath, and limited performance abilities in the marital bed (all well documented in most bios), but very little about the "chemistry" between Scarlett and Rhett. Not a lot happens in the story, the ending is somewhat reminiscent of movie scripts from the 30s and 40s, more "Casablanca" than "My Man Godfrey" but it was OK. An epilogue includes Lombard's tragic passing 3 years later. I think I would have preferred a different approach, one that dealt with the Lombard/Gable story from beginning to end. A pleasant diversion, not an award winner.
    • 4/5
      To this day, Gone with the Wind remains one of my favorite books and the movie one of only three that I have watched more than once. It was extremely thrilling to memo find myself once again lost in the wonderful world of that movie, this time having a back seat to its making and some of its stars. Carole Lombard, Clark Gable and a young Vivian Leigh along wit the perfectionist David Selznick. So very interesting.Trying to enter this rarified world is a young Julie Crawford from Fort Wayne, Indiana who wants to be script writer. Carole Lombard will take this young woman under her wing and Julie will fall in love with a young Jewish man Andy, Selznick's assistant. Yet, everything is not sweetness and light because Hitler is in power and war will soon be declared. The author did a great job contrasting the glitter and glamour of Hollywood, where things were often make believe and larger than life, with the horror of what was happening overseas. Using Andy, whose grandparents have disappeared from Germany, the darkness of reality threatens the make believe atmosphere of making movies and threatens the relationship between Andy and Julie. Julie, will change and grow throughout this novel, often with Carole's wise words, and become a force of her own.A joy to read, a book that reads light but with a deeper underlying message. The author afterwards does a wonderful job of updating the reader on the success of Gone with the Wind as well as it's key players. There is even a brief appearance by Margaret Mitchell.ARC from publisher.
    • 3/5
      (Fiction, Historical, Women’s, Hollywood)I love old black and white movies of the 1930s and ‘40s and am interested in the film stars of old. I’ve always been intrigued that Carole Lombard was purported to be, before her tragic death at age 36 in an airplane crash, the love of Clark Gable’s life.Unfortunately, in an attempt to bring Lombard to life, Alcott infused her vocabulary with profanities that were rare by most standards until only a couple of decades ago. It seemed affected to me, and limited my enjoyment of this fictionalized account of the making of Gone with the Wind. Even if Lombard really did talk like that, was it necessary to use to make the point of her “strength”?3 stars
    • 5/5
      Without a doubt A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott is my favourite of the three novels she has written so far. Set in 1939 Hollywood during the tumultuous filming of Gone With The Wind, this book takes full advantage of it’s setting and the many famous characters that were involved in the shooting. The main character is Julie Crawford, an aspiring screenwriter. Originally working in the production office of David Selznick, she makes friends with and then goes to work for Carole Lombard as her assistant and becomes her friend and confidant. While Lombard wasn’t in Gone With the Wind, her soon to be husband had the starring role of Rhett Butler. This was to become the role that defined Clark Gable’s career. Both Gable and Lombard came across as genuine, real people and Carole in particular was uninhibited and funny yet caring and giving in her relationships.This particular time in history also marked the beginning of World War II and even though America wasn’t yet in the war, Hollywood in general had strong feelings about the Nazi’s and what they were attempting to do in Europe. Julie’s boyfriend decides to leave Hollywood behind, deserting his promising career in order to work for the Red Cross.Descriptions of old style Hollywood and the making of one of the greatest pictures of all time kept me thoroughly engrossed in the book. I have found before with this author’s work that she often lets the love story take over but I felt that here she struck a nice balance. The magic of Hollywood and the fascinating story of the making of a classic film make A Touch of Stardust a stellar historical novel.
    • 5/5
      Alcott has made a career out of writing book whose backstories are near an anniversary day. Her second novel, The Dressmaker (a fabulous read BTW), was published during the 100th anniversary year of the Titanic’s sinking. Her new novel, A Touch of Stardust, comes out on the heels of the 75th anniversary of the movie Gone With The Wind release.Protagonist Julie Crawford wants nothing more than to become a Hollywood. After graduating from Smith College, she leaves her hometown of Fort Wayne behind and heads west. We first meet Julie in 1938. She has a menial job with David O. Selznick Studios. She is making her way to one of the backlots with an important message for Selznick. Julie founds herself on the set of GWTW’s burning of Atlanta set. When she finally finds the director, he’s atop a tower, watching the action. After climbing to deliver her message, Julie gets to meet a lovely young woman, Vivien Leigh; the King of Hollywood, actor Clark Gable; and screwball comedy sensation, actress Carole Lombard. That night she also meets Andy Weinstein, Selznick’s right-hand man.Alcott’s novel has many layers. First there is the Old Hollywood connection before WWII. Second is the love story of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. Third is the love story between Gable and Carole. Fourth, the one between Julie and Andy. Five, the story the Jews and WWII. I wouldn’t call this a romance novel, not by any means. I felt as if I was at Selznick Studios watching the filming of that remarkable movie. I felt as if I was a witness to the great love Gable and Lombard shared. I give A Touch of Stardust 5 out of 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      This novel was surprisingly good, both entertaining as well as thought-provoking. The main storyline is about the relationship of two fictional characters, and this relationship is set against the backdrop of the very real making of Gone with the Wind . Julie has been given a year by her parents to make good in Hollywood as a script writer. They are indulging her fantasy before requiring her to come home and lead a normal life. Julie has no intention of failing or of returning home to Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is rescued from sure doom on David O. Selznick’s set during her first task outside the mimeograph room by one Andy Weinstein. As their relationship grows, so does her desire to write for the movies. She finds a mentor or two along the way, one of which is another girl from Fort Wayne, Carole Lombard. It is this mix of the real and the unreal that makes this book so interesting. With many behind-the-scenes tidbits of GWTW, the reader can easily imagine what it must have been like back then, making this monumental extravaganza. But slowly intruding on the make-believe world is the real-life drama of the Nazis and beginning of WWII. Even while Andy’s job requires him to placate actors and make sure things run smoothly on the set, he is drawn to Europe and the terrible things that are happening there. It is this contrast of what seems to be important - the success of this ground-breaking movie – and what really is important – the imprisonment of Jews across Europe by the Nazis – that makes this novel so wonderful. Even while Selznick was making history with something so unique and beautiful, Hitler was making history with acts so vile it was almost not believable. Author Kate Alcott has written a remarkable story, combining the making of a war movie about a civilization gone with the wind with the beginnings of a real war in the making.
    • 5/5
      First off I need to tell you I am a huge classic movie fan; I think movies made before 1950 are the best movies out there. That is why I requested this book from edelweiss but then I saw that Cassandra Campbell narrates it so I waited for the audiobook.I loved all the insider info into the fights, casting, script writing, censors and producers that went on during the filming of this movie. I am so glad Louis B. Mayer didn’t get his way and that David O. Selsnick filmed the ending he wanted because it was the best ending possible!Julie Crawford a young writer from Indiana comes to Hollywood to write for the movies, on her first job she doesn’t get a message to one of the directors of Gone With the Wind fast enough and is fired on the spot, however she has just met a beautiful woman who says she will help her out. When someone asks if she knows who the lady is she admits she looks familiar but can’t place her; the woman turns out to be Carole Lombard soon to be wife of Clark Gable who stars and Rhett Butler in the film. What I found a little weird about these scenes was if you are going to Hollywood to write for the movies wouldn’t you at least know a little about the stars you hope to write for? But she and Carole become very good friends and I loved all the scenes of them together Carole seemed like a very down-to-earth person. Also on that day she meets Hank Weinstein and they start a relationship even though he is Jewish. This is 1938-39 so Hitler is starting his holocaust of the Jewish people including Hanks grandparents so he is having a tough time of it.I was impressed with Gable’s civil rights ideals (I really hope they were true) when he sees that the bathrooms and other places are segregated he has a fit and fights for their rights of non-segregation. Including almost not going to the premier because Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen would have to use a back door and sit in the colored section, even though it was Hattie who convinced Gable to go even when she boycotted the event.This was a fun book it was such an insider’s look into old Hollywood and especially Carole Lombard & Clark Gable’s relationship. I did think Julie could be quite naïve but it was the 30’s and she grew up in Indiana so … Cassandra Campbell’s narration was as always fabulous, I like how she made Clark gruff but didn’t try to imitate his voice, every character had their own cadence and tone and you were never left guessing as to who was talking.If you are a fan of old Hollywood, and /or Gone With the Wind I think you will enjoy this book very much. I have enjoyed all of Alcott’s books so if you haven’t read anything by her before give her a try you’ll be glad you did!4 ½ Stars
    • 5/5
      Touch Of Stardust is a work of fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story begins in December 1938 and much of the plot and character development takes place around the filming of Gone With The Wind. Meet Julie Crawford (from Fort Wayne, Indiana), with dreams of becoming a screenwriter.. She arrives in Hollywood with parental time constraints. Kate Alcott describes her in this manner: "that girl in any generation, at any point in history ,who strikes out with a small arsenal of choices and expands them to search for, if not always to find what she wants. She grows, she changes..." We meet vintage Hollywood character, such as Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. And of course, WWII is an integral part of the backdrop. Kate Alcott was privy to many Hollywood stories. Her husband, the late Frank Mankiewicz, grew up in "a legendary film family" and "helped her bring Old Hollywood to life" (jacket excerpt) I really became enthralled with the characters, as I cheered for one and frowned at another. The characters, story line and time period were vividly drawn for me. I end as I began...... I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this novel. 4.5 ★
    • 3/5
      What a great look at Hollywood and the creation of the movie, GONE WITH THE WIND. In fictional form, both Carole Lombard and Clark Gable became human, not just stars we see on the screen. The story revolves around Julie Crawford who came to Hollywood to be a writer. It seems she leads a charmed life, because not only does she fall in love with a Jewish writer, Carole Lombard picks her as a personal assistant, giving Julie an inside look at the romance of Carole and Clark Gable. Add to this the challenges of making GONE WITH THE WIND, and you’ve got a sure fire fun and interesting read about Hollywood.