Despite the fact that I am very interested in the history of the American cinema, I found this book exceedingly superficial and the writing rather stilted and simplistic. Melanie Benjamin has done wonderful jobs in her prior books so this was all the more disappointing.

The girls are Mary Pickford and Francis Marion, among the first women who influenced film and helped create United Artists. Lots of people play cameos in the story, but in essence, the reader sees the graph of their friendship, the rise and the precipitous fall.

So, this was not up to the standards that I expected from Benjamin., rather a hodgepodge of curated episodes in the lives of these women.

Melanie Benjamin, how do you do it? You had me from the first sentence, and I was spellbound until the last page. I had never given much thought to Mary Pickford, or Douglas Fairbanks. (Just not my generation)...I did know that they were incredibly famous for their work in silent films, but this was a vision into their life and their world. Hollywood! and how they help create it. I was enraptured! A great story..I even loved reading your acknowledgements! This is a story that I will always think about. I have read many of your books, and they have all left incredible and indelible impressions. I still think about Mrs. Tom Thumb...! Thank you, and Thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the perusal for an honest review. I loved this book. I can't wait till Ms. Benjamain's next novel. WONDERFUL!! and WONDER FILLED!

(Thank you Netgalley for an early reader copy)

The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin is an engrossing story about two women who played a historical role in the development of Hollywood: Mary Pickford and Frances Marion. Everyone has heard about America's Sweetheart, Mary Pickford, but I had never heard of Frances Marion. Mary was a founding and managing member of United Artists, and Frances a renowned screenwriter. The two meet in 1914, when Mary is struggling to support her family as an actress, and Frances is trying to figure out what to do with her life after two divorces. Mary becomes a star in the silent movies, and then have to make the jump to "talkie's, a jump that devoured many silent actresses. Frances becomes her "senarist" (basically her screenwriter) and writes one hit movie after another. The two become deep and devoted friends, but eventually they take different directions in their careers and lives, with Mary taking control of her pictures, and Frances creating hit scripts for others. They both meet and marry men who take them even farther apart; Mary falls in love with Douglas Fairbanks, an actor and Frances meets Fred Thompson, a soldier and athlete, who she eventually manages to convince to work in movies. The two men can best be described as "frenemies"; they share much in common but Fairbanks' fragile ego causes him to be extremely competitive with Fred, and Fred isn't much impressed with .

The book alternates between Fran and Mary's point of view. It's written in the voice reminiscent of actresses of the time - high energy, sometimes self centered, sometimes judgemental, other times terrified - you can almost hear their voices speaking to you as they navigate the politics, sexism and changes that keep on coming. Mary deals with the issues of keeping her public happy, as she literally grows up and needs to find new roles in an industry where she's played a little girl until well into womanhood. Fran goes to war, becoming a journalist, documenting women's roles during WW II. It's a wonderful story of two very different women who are both instrumental in creating a new industry, and recreating themselves many times in the process. It made me want to know more about both of them. This book is historical fiction at it's best; it's well researched, with plenty of facts, and very realistic. You can totally believe what the characters say and do. Take this engaging trip through history with Mary and Fran!

Frances Owens de Lappe Pike was a twice divorced young woman when she met Gladys Louise Smith in Los Angles in 1914. Frances had come to Los Angeles in hopes of using her talent as an artist in the fledging talking movie industry. Gladys, now known as Mary Pickford, was the rising star of silent movies.

The two became fast friends and Mary even encouraged Frances to become a screen writer. So Frances changed her last name to Marion and started writing in earnest. Frances became well known in the movie industry and soon was writing scripts for the actress. Mary was the breadwinner in her family who supported her mother and two siblings with her acting. By the 1910s and 1920s, she had become the most famous movie actress in the world. Mary was dubbed "America's Sweetheart". Frances kept busy writing screenplays and was very highly paid to do so.

The friendship blossomed even after Mary married Douglas Fairbanks and they became the premier Hollywood couple. Their home, Pickfair, was a large dwelling that was the place for grand Hollywood parties attended by famous people from all over the world. Frances married Fred Thompson, a former minister Mary had introduced Frances to around the time the US entered World War I. The two couples even honeymooned together in Europe after the War ended.

However the marriage of Douglas to Mary forced a wedge between the two women and their friendship suffered. Frances and Douglas did not like each other but Fred and Douglas were friendly.

Then talking movies became the rage and it was soon discovered that Mary did not have the voice or talent to continue making the movies that had become popular. She had built a career on playing young girls but could not continue doing so in her late 30s. By then the relationship between Mary and Douglas had cooled and Mary began to drink. Fred was encouraged to become a movie actor and had a moderate success in cowboy movies. He and Frances had a son and adopted a second boy a year later. Then Fred stepped on a nail, developed tetanus and died. Mary refused to attend the funeral.

Mary divorced Douglas after his affair with an Englishwoman became public. Although she owned a studio with Douglas and his friend Charlie Chaplin, Mary's acting career was over at age 38. She remarried a younger man but became a heavy drinker and recluse.

Frances continued writing for the movies as she had 2 sons to support. She went on to win 2 Academy Awards (the first woman to do so) and become very wealthy screenwriter.

However the women two were no longer friends and did not speak until 1969 - a few years before Frances' death. Frances visited Mary, saw what a miserable existence Mary was living and decided that Mary needed a good friend more than ever.

This historical fiction book is based loosely on the lives of the two women. It is told with alternate chapters from each woman's point of view. Some things, like the existence of two children that Mary and Douglas adopted, were left out. I enjoyed two of Benjamin's earlier works, The Aviator's Wife and the Swans of New York, more than I did this book. I found the dialogue a bit silly for two intelligent women working as pioneers in Hollywood.

Dark Haired Frances and golden haired Mary found each other and became fast friends. Frances becomes one of the top scenerists in Hollywood. Mary, well Mary is Mary Pickford, first actress of the silverscreen. Promises made are promises kept, no man will ever come between them. Marriage, fame, and richness made each one go their own way. Somehow they are able to stay connected through loyalty, forgiveness and love. These two women are able to cross barriers that in other times, places and people may never have been crossed. This is a truly great story of the inner working of Hollywood. The actors, actresses, scandals, marriages, divorces and death. However, the true story is in the friendship of two remarkable women. I loved reading this book. I couldn't put it down. The flow of the story and characters, makes you be there as a silent watcher, seeing, hearing and feeling the emotions of these characters. Definitely a must read.
5 Stars!

I loved this book. It will definitely become a best seller. Historical fiction mixed with Hollywood. It's a winneer!

A true Melanie Benjamin book - this one follows he intertwined lives of Frances Marion and Mary Pickford from the birth of the movie industry through the late sixties. Told with a feminist slant, we are privy to the challenges and successes of two determined, intelligent, women rising to the top of their fields while dealing with fanny pinching, disdain, and outright hostility.

As always, Benjamin imagines the dialog, internal landscape, and behind closed doors events of the story beyond what is documented in historical sources. I’m always a little uncomfortable with this as we of course don’t really know what was going through their minds (as Benjamin readily admits) but it makes for a very compelling story.

For history buffs, the readily documented portions of the story are fascinating all on their own - Mary Pickford started the first artist run studio along with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and DW Griffith known as United Artists. Frances Marion was the highest paid scenarist (the name for script writers before the talkies) in Hollywood. There are lots of tidbits about what Southern California was like before the movie business really took off, and how it evolved into what we know today. Part biography, part history, part drama, this is another fascinating and highly accessible look into an intriguing piece of history.

Very interesting read. Beautifully written with lots of historical name dropping. An enjoyable read!

Usually this historical fiction is not my cup of tea, but as I delved further found myself wondering what was going to go on next. Loving old movies, the references to early stars and moguls of the film industry was intriguing and left me hoping for more nuggets. The author has obviously done her research!

EXCELLENT! I'm a fan of Ms. Benjamin and "The Girls in the Picture" was everything I hoped. It piqued my interest in both Frances Marion and Mary Pickford enough to want to read many of the books she mentions at the end in her author's note. A fascinating time and this novel brings it to life against a perfect backdrop.

Thanks to NetGalley for presenting me with an advance copy of The Girls in the Picture. I did not know a lot about the silent movie era and learned a bit about that through this title. At times, parts seemed to move a little slowly, but in general, I felt it provided a fair portrayal of Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and the scenarist, Frances Marion.

5 plus stars

What a remarkable and wonderful novel!

We meet Frances Marion and Mary Pickford in 1915 or so when Mary is making her debut into “flickers” and Frances is an aspiring writer. After meeting one another, they become fast friends. They tell each other everything. They share the good time and the bad with their acting careers, although Frances’ is only occasional acting and more of a starring writer career. They are independent women and proud to be. Mary calls Frances a suffragette. They swear that no man will ever come between them.

Mary is married to an abusive alcoholic who is a minor actor, but is also very jealous of Mary’s stardom. Frances is a twice-divorced single woman. They remain best friends until the inevitable happens – Mary meets a man and falls in love for the first time in her life. Douglas Fairbanks is also an actor who is charming and very athletic and sweeps Mary off her feet. Frances is taken aback at what she feels is Mary’s treachery.

Mary goes on to become the highest paid actress and Frances is the highest paid screenwriter. But it is not easy being independent and strong women in the early 20th Century. They are put down, ridiculed and plainly ignored. They, however, rise above it all and become famous world-wide in their own right.

While Mary, Douglas and Charlie Chaplin go on a bond tour, Frances goes literally to war. She enlists and goes to France to film the women behind the scenes; the nurses, the typists, the support staff. It creates somewhat of a gulf between the two women. Mary sees herself as going to a Pretend” war while Frances went to the real thing.

This book tells of the friendship and trials of two remarkable women. They were far ahead of their time in both their behavior and achievements. We learn of their triumphs and disappointments. We learn of the almost mythical stature achieved by stars that are only all too human.

This book is extremely well written and plotted. It is easy to read and follow. I knew who Mary Pickford was but I never had heard of Frances Marion until now. The book was both educational and entertaining. I enjoyed it immensely. This is my first Melanie Benjamin book, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon and looked up Melanie Benjamin’s other novels.

I want to send a huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Delacorte Press for forwarding to me a copy of this most remarkable book to read and enjoy.

"Very heartfelt and realistic. I could connect on a personal level and it even made me tear up at the end. A must read!"

It was scandalous when Frances Marion left her second husband in 1914 to pursue a career in what would become Hollywood. Movies, or “flickers” are taking over Los Angeles, and Marion wants in on the action. Here she meets actress Mary Pickford, already a popular screen star, and the two like-minded women become fast friends> Frances’s career will not be in front of the camera, but behind it, as she writes the scripts and stories that Pickford and other actors bring to life. Filled with appearances by Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and others, this is a fascinating look at the beginnings of the movie industry, and the vital role that women played, but were not recognized for.