Ardis Cameron

Is there anything more passé than a steamy novel after sixty years? We read Valley of the Dolls and Flowers in the Attic back in the day, and it's really almost impossible to recall them without groaning a little. Or blushing. Or rolling your eyes. Possibly all of the above *and* a disclaimer about untutored youth. Peyton Place predates me, but it made enough of a ripple in the culture to get me to go back and give it a look. Just as I am someday going to do with Forever Amber. I thought it was okay, but no big deal. Then one day, I'm walking by the new books and I see this fabulously saucy cover (seriously, academic presses are not known for their fabulous covers), and I take a look, and by the time I've finished checking out the book jacket I am checking the book out of the library.
This is a social history of a publishing phenomenon about which I previously knew nothing. And it is riveting. How the publisher got it, how Metalious wrote it, the true murder story that forms the plot, excerpts from the author's fan mail, and a bit about her life after she found fame and fortune. It is an amazing story, both entertaining and insightful. I feel like Cameron has explained a time and a culture in a way I've never understood before, and I am grateful for her tutelage (hers must be the most popular classes on campus).
Great book, great cover, weird time in American history. I wish all academic writing were this fun to read.

Library copy… (mere)