*Scandalous Women* by Gill Paul is a riveting blend of speculative historical fiction and biography. The novel cleverly imagines a contentious relationship between Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann, using the inventive character of Nancy White, a fictional ingenue-editrix, to bridge the two literary worlds. The alternating perspectives of the US and UK authors add depth and intrigue to the story.

Paul masterfully weaves together humor, fashion, and the gritty realities of the publishing industry from 1965 to 1975. Nancy's journey, navigating a sexist industry and forming pivotal friendships, is both engaging and enlightening.

The book is a captivating 4-star read, combining historical detail with imaginative storytelling. I couldn't put it down!

Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Based loosely on the lives of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann, who broke the publishing mould writing racy books for women. Considering this was a time when sexism was commonplace and women were mere pawns in a man's world. This type of book didn't belong.

I absolutely loved getting to know the women and their friendships with others, good and bad. The characters were so well written that I'd become so invested in their story's. They paved the way for many writers. This was a very intriguing look at the world of publishing at this time.

🧁Powerful! Feminist! A boss book written by a boss author! I was truly entertained each chapter and each page! I grew up around women who paved the way in certain industries and I can feel each and every emotion the characters conveyed based off a real life heroes!


And due to my handicap this book was really easy to follow along! The way the author wrote this legendary legend bound truth had me wanting more!!


🍰 I felt this book was a mix of Mad Men with a big splash of Cherry Martinis and raw sparkle!

💗 whenever the characters in the book were presented with a challenge all I could see was how are these ladies going to punch through this wall?! LOL

Bravo!! 💋

I loved Gill Paul's Beautiful Rival, her take on a speculative historical-fictional relationship of contention between the heads of America's two cosmetic industry titans; and I think that formula works even better here, as applied to publishing's parallel Jackies! The invention of the highly intelligent ingenue-editrix character Nancy White, is brilliant as a means of connecting the US author with the one in the UK, and alternating the chapters from each of their points of view works masterfully, in moving the drama, intrigue and romance forward. The author took artistic liberties inventing such a thriving bond between these two pioneers in sexy women's fiction, (or "gritty books about romances that don't have happy endings"), but she did an admirable job illustrating the very interesting background and family life of both Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann, and how painfully paternalistic the publishing world they managed to break into was.

The humor never quit, even when bad things were happening; and I loved the gourmet, fashion and design details liberally sprinkled throughout this story spanning from 1965 to 1975, in New York, London and LA.

I could not put this book down!

A story of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann and not only their rise to fame with their respective books, but the sexism and trials and tribulations they encountered along the way. Whilst the account is fictious it was so much fun to read, Gill really brought the two authors alive.

My favourite character was Nancy the fictious book intern and her navigation of New York in the 1960s. Even though the blatant sexism she encountered at work was hard to read I was routing for her throughout. From arriving to find she had no place to stay, to her friendship with Jacqueline Susann and later Jackie Collins, it was just a delight to read. The character was a brilliant bridge between the two author stories.

Gill wove factual detail into her story so well, that when I had finished reading I was grateful for her notes on what did and didn't actually happen. Also how she had entwined certain facts and fiction to make for a gripping read.

Scandalous Women
By Gill Paul

Gill Paul writes in a genre that usually doesn't appeal to me, but her blend of historically accurate fiction, wildly interesting female disruptors and a vividly imagined narrative, packed with juicy gossip gives me hours of rabbit-holing, and plenty of insights into women who's feats and achievements have been played down or appropriated by men over the years.

She is a brilliant storyteller. She's like the literary equivalent of those chefs on Ready, Steady, Cook, the show where they were provided with 5 ingredients with which they had to produce a dish, and the results were always unexpected and delicious.

I read all the Jackie Collins books as a teenager and young adult. They were extremely enlightening. I can remember the fuss over Jacqueline Susann and her iconic style. These ladies broke ground and I can see why Paul chose to write about them.

I enjoyed reading this, but not quite as much as her previous books. Something about the prominence of the fictional characters felt awkward and the imagined relationship between the two Jackies felt ham-handed. I love that the author included the tidbits of research that prompted that storyline, but it scuppered my usual extra curricular research and the joy of discovering what was actually real.

In the same way as I will never ignore an unattended copy of 'Hello', I feel certain that I will always read whatever Paul writes next, because spilling the tea is always a blend of fact and supposition, and a great storyteller is a great storyteller.

Publication date: 13th August 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for the ARC

Fantastic book with a really enticing concept. I loved the exploration of multiple points of view, and felt it kept the pace tight and plot engaging. A great juicy summer read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review

What another fabulous and captivating novel from Gill Paul! I was glued to the pages and fascinated by the lives of Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins. The 1960s was a rough time in the book industry and these women were trailblazers who never gave up and made a difference for women authors who came after. There were a number of times I felt teary for these ladies who had such a battle on their hands trying to be heard in the male dominated publishing industry at that time. Plus the difficulties they encountered in their personal lives.

Scandalous Women shines a bright light on the unfairness, the unbalanced opportunities for women and the rude responses of some reviewers in the 1960s. Also, its demonstrates how women in the office were treated by men. Editor assistant Nancy shone in her role and showed us the issues that she and many faced in this area plus the obstacles women had to overcome in trying to succeed in the industry. I felt that Nancy’s confidence and skills were superior to the men she worked for in the publishing companies. She may not have had the years of experience behind her but she certainly had the brains and a natural talent for editing and sussing out future best sellers. Her personal life, though, was in sharp contrast to her glowing work skills. Her initial naivety about romantic relationships was startling. We see her dating the wrong men and falling into some awful traps. One man she trusted and fell for during her first publishing role, burned her with his dishonesty and false claims of marital status. Thankfully not all the men in her life were horrors. There was one real prince waiting in the wings watching out for her. George is a dear friend of Jacqueline’s. She introduced them with hopes they would fall in love. The old saying that implies ‘what Jacqueline wants, Jacqueline gets’ proves true in this case. But I smiled at the genuine care Jacqueline had for these two for it was an unselfish desire to see her beloved friends join together in what she saw as a perfect love-match.

The story is told through multiple viewpoints (Nancy, Jacqueline, Jackie) which move back and forth like a well-oiled machine. Never once did I feel the transitions were abrupt or out of place. Everything was neatly arranged and flowed from chapter to chapter flawlessly. I hung on the author’s every word and was keen to see what each of these women were going to do next. Their stories were all equally fascinating, dramatic and all-encompassing.

Scandalous Women is an inspiring blend of fact and fiction: heartbreaking yet empowering historical knowledge infused with Gill Paul’s robust imagination! These real women’s lives were epic and tragic in so many ways, so the author had a lot to draw upon. But a fiction author does not just regurgitate facts. The information is perused, distilled and utilised in the best way possible and injected into the creative mind where it picks up nuances, shades and form and expands into a magnificent full colour portrayal. Fleshing out what might have been. And Gill has done this profoundly well. She energised and embellished the text in ways that made Scandalous Women a fascinating read. She is a true master of telling stories about strong historical women in the limelight who made a difference, fought uphill battles against the norms of society and forged a path for many of us. Massive cheers for Jacqueline and Jackie (and fictional character Nancy). And 5 stars for Gill Paul for her dazzling literary performance. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Avon Books UK, Gill Paul and Netgalley for the review copy.

'She just wished she hadn't been so naive as to think writing a sexy book would come without a price tag'.

When Jacqueline Susann's, 'Valley of the Dolls', was published in 1966, it represented a new frontier in fiction: women's fiction. It wasn't a romance and it wasn't literary fiction. It was gritty. It was escapist. Critics loathed it, but it took only 9 weeks to become a New York bestseller - where it stayed for another 28 weeks. Ever a visionary, Jacqueline steered her own marketing and publicity for this new type of novel, including never-before-seen booktours. However, none of this success stopped the hatemail, threats, harassment, and general attempts of public humiliation that bombarded her. Yet, she remained undeterred, producing another provocative book soon after.

Hot off the heels of Jacqueline's success, came Jackie Collins', when she published, 'The World is Full of Married Men', in 1968. Being banned in 3 countries bolstered sales but did protect her from being castigated by critics and harassed by haters. But she did not apologise. She did not stop.

Nancy White, a recent college graduate, comes to New York with dreams of becoming an editor. She's begrudgingly given a job as a typist with a publisher. This seeming set-back, becomes a windfall when she's introduced to Jacqueline Susann. Susann takes an active interest in Nancy and her dreams. But trying to get ahead in this male-dominated industry will take as much gumption as these maverick women authors.

Gill Paul's, 'Scandalous Women', is a very readable, multi POV book that spans a decade, from the mid 60s. Through the mixing of fact and fiction, Paul relates the vision, fortitude, and utter resilience these two authors had in creating a new type of women's fiction. It seems incredulous that their sales success - continued success - was met with such scathing reviews.

The thing I love best about historical fiction is, learning new facets of history - people, places and
social norms of that era - in such a digestible format. Gill Paul has succeeded here.

'Nancy was astonished by the venom. Surely the author's appearance wasn't relevant to the decision whether or not to publish a book'.

Scandalous Women by Gill Paul is the story of Jacquline Susann and Jackie Collins. I remember in the sixties reading the books written by these ladies. At the time, they were both held up to ridicule since women were not supposed to author sexy books. With the exception of the literary accolades, both lades had great sadness in their lives. Susann had an autistic child and Collins had a sad abuse first marriage. Through all of this, both ladies kept their belief that a woman can enjoy sex and write sexy novels. They were true pioneers for women in literature. Enjoy this book and the private glimpse it gives one into the private lives of two bestselling authors.

An imagined fictional story about what happened when two scandalous women meet and it wasn’t at all what I expected! Two strong and determined women Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins have both published their first books. Controversial books with sex scenes written from a woman’s point of view their books, and they, were decried from many quarters. Nancy White has come to New York to interview for a job in publishing and successfully gets a role as a typist, but her dream is to become an editor. I know it’s fictional but this was written so well I felt like I was reading a true story, do read the authors notes at the end of the book - no spoilers here!

Briefly, Jacqueline is successful and is in demand in the New York publishing world after her book Valley of the Dolls, published in 1966, became a massive best seller. She meets Nancy through her publishing house and they become friends and it’s through Nancy that she eventually comes into contact with Jackie and against the odds they become not just friends but good friends.

All three female protagonists were so well fleshed and I liked them all very much. Feminists at a time when women were actively fighting for equality these three women were strong, ambitious and determined. They all had to fight the glass ceiling that in those days in publishing was a very low ceiling! All three women had secrets they wanted to keep that way and all had interesting and at times shocking private lives, particularly Jackie. I genuinely adored this book and read it in a day and whilst I love all this authors books this one really grabbed me. A brilliant read.

This novel novel is a fiction based account of 3 women and how they fare in the world of publishing, we meet Nancy who has moved to NY desperate for a career in the world of books and them through her we meet authors Jaqueline Susann (Valley of the Dolls ) dand Jackie Collins both intending to change the face of ‘women’s fiction’……Nancy manages to bring all 3 together and friendships form
It is set in the late 1960’s and really manages well to bring the atmosphere of the time to the book including the unhidden sexism of the ‘man’s world’ of publishing’ and also just how little control authors had/have once the first draft of their books is received
It is a book about strong focused life changing women who do not want the status quo but want what they want and intend to do it their way
Anyone interested in publishing and books will enjoy it and find it really well done and original although will say it is not autobiographical re the 2 authors,it is fiction based
An inspiring book which is at times quite shocking re the historical publishing world but shows what you can do if determined

This book has weaved reality into fiction beautifully. I breezed through it in 2 days and it was a riveting read. The wit and charm of both Jackies was very amusing. Nancy’s ending felt abrupt and I wish they had elaborated more on her success. But I think all the male characters really jumped out of the page too. Writers like Jacqueline Sussan paved the way women’s fiction became more mainstream and gritty. I am glad this story was told.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance copy.
#Netgalley

I enjoyed reading this book. It's an imagined story of what might have taken place if Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann had ever met. They were both feminists and Jacqueline was powerful in the publishing world. Jackie Collins at that time was relatively unknown and just starting to have her first book published.
We are introduced to Nancy in America who has just left college and hoping to work her way up in a publishing job to become a book editor. She works with some terrible excuses for men who don't rate women for having a brain or maybe they were scared that women would turn out to be better than them at the job.
Nancy brings Jacqueline in New York and Jackie in London into each others lives and a friendship grows.
I enjoyed this story. It was interesting and easy to get into and kept me page turning.
I find these books where historical figures are given stories made up by an author a bit strange because I always seem to believe they are true until I get to the author's notes at the end and discover that most of the book has came from the author's imagination. I then feel disappointed, but that's my problem I think. Good read and I would recommend it.

I love Gill's books and this one was so addictive. I've never read Valley of the Dolls , not really my type of book. I was too young when it came out but I do remember the hype surrounding it. I found out about both these women so Interesting. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Having just read Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Sussan last year (I know, late to the party!) I was fascinated to read this reimagined fictionalised account of her life and career. What a woman she was! A best-selling writer and feminist who knew how to play the patriarchy, she blazed a trail for female writers such as Jackie Collins, the second "scandalous woman" of the title. The third protaganist Nancy, is a fictional character, and as an aspiring book editor trying to break the glass ceiling of male domination, a great foil to the two women writers.
The narrative follows the triumphs and tragedies of all three women in both their personal and public lives, while imagining a world in which Jacqueline and Jackie collide in real life to become a formidable force. Rivals, friends and allies against the men who think they have the monopoly on sexual matters, they never give up their fight to be taken seriously, nor their battle for the sisterhood to enjoy life in the bedroom and the boardroom.
All three women are strong, yet vulnerable, loyal and courageous and their stories are rivetting.
As always, Gill Paul demonstrates her stregnth in fleshing out real-life historical heroines so that we really feel we get to know them, and furthermore, make friends with them. Scandalous or not, you want women like this on your side!
Another brilliant book by one of my favourite authors.

There was something about the characters which really hooked me into this fabulous story about the real life Jackies and their fictional editor, Nancy. I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen to them and that's a sign of a great book. The only thing I would say is that by making it three POVs I felt there wasn't enough time spent on any of them in-depth. I would have preferred to just have two and have explored their lives more deeply. Still, it was a great story and I really enjoyed it.

I love how this author finds interesting women to write about, and loved how she 'tweaked' a little bit of history into making this a read about female friendships as much anything else.

I did find Nancy's POV a bit tiresome and I think just having the 2 leading ladies would have done the job better for me.

That being said. this is a wonderful reminder as to how far female author's have got, and a healthy nod to those who pioneered the industry for women.

An enjoyable experience.

Wow. This was an incredible book. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in two days! I love the characters so much! The women were strong, complex, inspiring, and resilient. It made me feel even more excited and thrilled to take on the world as a woman in the legal profession.

They are amazing role models. I loved the show Mad Men so much and I felt like I was taken into that world when I was reading it. Even better than Mad Men, I love that the central plot is women who fight and work hard and stand up for themselves. The book flowed and progressed and never felt stuck.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the pre-published draft of the book.

Another great mixture of fact and fiction of two iconic women.
I loved the way Gill built up this imaginary friendship between these two ladies; it was very believable.
I loved the fictional characters as well as they added to the main characters.
It's crazy how far the literacy world has come along in the fifty so years. I guess there's still work to be done, but we've had progress.
A great insight of life in the Seventy's, drugs, freelove, mobs controlling the nightclub scene and celebs hung out.