‘Daughter of Daring’ tells a rip-roaring story of Hollywood’s first stuntwoman. Helen Gibson wowed audiences with her jumps, falls, and derring-do. She also offered moviegoers the unique image of a woman in control. Visit https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2025/0218/stuntwoman-helen-gibson-daughter-of-daring for the full review.

I don’t read much nonfiction and somehow chose this book thinking it was a novel or at the very least a biography. I think the cover got me and I didn’t read the subtitle. That said I was so pleasantly surprised to thoroughly enjoy this untold history of early Hollywood, the film industry. The bonus was getting to know an individual, Helen, in some detail. The writing style was light, entertaining and very conversational. I feel like the author’s personality was very evident with the side commentary comparing today to past times. I honestly learned a lot and had no idea women were so well represented in the early years of film in all aspects of the movie making business. Anyone interested in film and/or untold female history will adore this excellent book. Thanks to the author, Harlequin and Net Galley for the review copy.

There's no one I would rather learn about old Hollywood from. Mallory O'Meara really dives into the lives and the work Helen Gibson did. It was a fantastic read. Loved that it wasn't just Helen, she provided info on other incredible women at the time.

Daughter of Daring by Mallory O'Meara explores the life of Helen Gibson, one of Hollywood's first stuntwomen. O'Meara's research is thorough, and she highlights the contributions of many women in early Hollywood. As a result, the book doesn't focus on Gibson for long, but it's still a fascinating history of the film industry before big business took over the reigns.

O'Meara’s conversational tone makes the history feel accessible, and while the humor may be hit or miss for some, I found it effective in breaking up dense passages of information. However, readers looking for a deep dive into Gibson’s life may need to look elsewhere. Instead, Daughter of Daring serves as a broader exploration of Hollywood’s hidden history, best suited for those interested in the role of women in early filmmaking rather than a singular biography.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Hanover Square Press for the advance copy.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble reviews submitted
Blog post goes live April 15th
Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for March 15

**TL;DR**: Full of some interesting information but completely ruined for me because of the authorial voice
**Source**: Netgalley! Thank you so much to the publisher

**Plot**: This one primarily covers the rise of Hollywood and film with aspects of Helen Gibson.
**Characters**: Helen is mentioned a lot and is in there, but it touches on so many folks they’ve kind of run together.
**Setting**: If you like Hollywood or LA you’re going to like it. If not it’s going to be dull.
**Readability**: ****At times there are huge chunks of information and the author tries to cut it with humor but it ends up very jarring.

Thoughts:
Full honesty here, this wasn’t for me. I went in hoping for a bit more detailed information and a closer look at Helen Gibson and perhaps her contemporaries which is what it looks to be at first glance. In reality though this seems to be a history of Hollywood and film with the cover story of Helen Gibson. The author comments at several points that information about this or that with Helen is non-existent or hard to find which is understandable. Perhaps then we should have just pitched and sold the book as what it is, a history of Hollywood.

The writing style also didn’t work at all for me. We are given large chunks of information but scattered throughout there are little snarky comments, dropped in at appropriate times but also completely jerking the reader out of the flow of the information. In addition we have quite a few footnotes, over a 100, and approximately 95 of them felt very unnecessary. The ones that had information were very casually presented, the ones that did not are simply snarky comments or one liners (even one word) to illustrate how funny our author seems to be.

If the past two paragraphs haven’t given it away, I really didn’t enjoy this. I found segments interesting but as soon as I was in the roll of learning and enjoying it there would be a jerk in the narrative, a snarky comment, and I’d get thrown out. I don’t recommend this. The only thing I can find of use from this would be the sources, one of those might have more information or better written for the topic. Skip it or get it from the library, and as always, check other reviews for different thoughts.

Daughter of Daring by Mallory O'Meara is a fascinating and well-researched study of stuntwoman Helen Wilson. Helen Wilson, was a young woman from Cleveland, Ohio who started as a horse rider for traveling rodeos and quickly became one of Hollywood's trailblazing stars. I learned so much about a topic I knew nothing about - the reign of women in the early days of the film industry.

I found the pictures shared throughout to completely jump the story off the pages for me and offer me a glimpse back in time.

I will say there were times Mallory O'Meara's prose distracted me from the story. I knew there would be a heavy focus on feminism (as there should be in such a book), but I did feel talked down to as if I was responsible for the history and the ways women were treated back in the 1020's. Of course, I realized this wasn't the author's intent - nonetheless a different approach here might have carried the message through in a more educational fashion.

This was the first Mallory O'Meara book I have read and certainly will not be my last. I enjoy learning about topics that I haven't explored and O'Meara's research cannot be disputed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to listen and enjoy this audiobook.

I love everything Mallory O'Meara writes. In the same vein of Lady From the Black Lagoon, O'Meara showcases her historian skills and her knowledge of the film industry to shine a light on a long-overlooked real-life character. Absolutely worth every second spent on this book. More books about women in Hollywood, please!!!

Reading about the early film industry and the roles of women is fascinating, and Mallory O'Meara is excellent at finding incredibly interesting women to write about. Helen Gibson was both of her time and ahead of it, and the author does a great job capturing the changing landscape (literally and metaphorically) of Hollywood over the decades she worked. The footnotes were great, and this is both informational and incredibly absorbing and entertaining. I've been a big fan of the author since The Lady from the Black Lagoon, and am a listener to her podcast, so her narrating this audiobook was a huge plus for me, and I think it would not have been as well done by anyone else.

Daughter of Daring by Mallory O'Meara led us into the early 20th century where we were regaled with the rise of the film industry in LA and the rise of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first stuntwoman. It was eye-opening to learn how much more women were involved in film and production back when it started out than they are now, and I also enjoyed learning more about how Helen Gibson became involved in stunt work.

Overall, I enjoyed the book even though it read more as a history of the rise of Hollywood. I also found the digital formatting of the book jarring - footnotes would appear in the middle of the page, so reading this was not as smooth as I would have liked. Mallory O'Meara's voice is strong throughout which is always enjoyable in a nonfiction book, however sometimes the writing style could pull me away from fully focusing on the story and information being shared.

As soon as I saw that there was a new book by Mallory O'Meara, highlighting another woman from the entertainment world, I was ecstactic! I adored THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and O'Meara's passion for sharing incredible women who are generally lost to time. I rarely read these types of books, but O'Meara's way of writing that intertwines her thoughts and experiences, and ties it into the narrative, really scratches an itch for me, and DAUGHTER OF DARING is no different.

What an absolute joy of a book this is, and I can't wait to add it to my list of recommended titles to share with all my friends.

Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's First Stuntwoman by Mallory O'Meara is an absolute joy of a read that explores the life of Helen Gibson, the early history of Los Angeles, and a time when women ruled Hollywood. The book is well-researched and well-written, giving information in a fun, playful way. Its conversational tone kept me involved and wanting to learn more. This book is also a love letter to Los Angeles and how the city embraces people, gives them new opportunities, and allows them to be themselves unapologetically.

O'Meara's wit and snark shine through in this book with entertaining quips and enlightening footnotes. She maintains a good balance of depicting how Gibson's life would be in the 1900s while also comparing and commenting on the current state of affairs. I found this contrast of the two time periods to be a fascinating look at how things have changed, for better or worse, and what has stayed the same. The references kept the story fresh and helped engage readers with the past and present.

As with all of Mallory O'Meara's books, this one feels like a friend telling you about A Very Cool Thing they just learned. Throughout the book, I wanted to know what would happen next and was laughing out loud while learning something new! I cannot wait for the next book where Mallory tells us about the cool new thing she learned!

What a fascinating read this is. While it's framed as a look at the life of Helen Gibson, a stunt woman par excellence it's also a look at Hollywood in the early days-when women were integral to the business of movies. Helen's story is one of determination and resilience. It's not easy being a pioneer but she had the kind of support then that went missing for many years. I learned a great deal (and found myself googling for more information). This is written in an easygoing style that pulls the reader in. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A must read for anyone interested in Hollywood.

Daughter of Daring is a fascinating and well-researched look at the career of Helen Wilson, horsewoman and stuntwoman extraordinaire. The book also examines a little-known aspect of Hollywood: the dominance of women in the early days of the film industry. From Wild West shows and circus acts to rodeo and the golden age of silent serials, Daughter of Daring is a fun ride through the rough and tumble rise of Hollywood, the studio system, and the advent of talkies. There's also plenty of serious analysis around the sexism in the industry which eventually all but shut women out of important roles, and which continues today.

I would have preferred a little less breeziness in the author's style. Some of her witty asides and use of slang ("majorly," referring to "the girls" when discussing stuntwomen's bras, a Lil Nas X reference) seemed discordant to this reader. Overall, though, I found the book to be easily worth that small quibble.

I’ve really enjoyed some of O’Meara’s other works and still love her engaging non fiction writing, but this one didn’t work for me. She had to address some pretty hard hitting topics in the beginning and I think she tried to add a bit too much levity into them with her writing style, not giving them the serious discussions they deserved.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this upcoming book***
What an absolutely fantastic look at a forgotten Hollywood icon that also doubles as a history of the creation of Hollywood. I had read other books about Hollywood history but had forgotten how it was built on the back of female actors, writers, directors….you name it.

The book focuses on Helen Gibson, a woman from Cleveland who started as a stunt rider for traveling rodeos and went on to become one of early Hollywood’s biggest stars. This is a story worth telling and a book worth reading for all fans of movies and their endlessly fascinating history. Give it a read!

Imagine a film industry dominated by women. Directors, producers, screenwriters, and headlining stars — all women. This wasn’t just some Hollywood Barbie-like flight of fancy, but the reality of motion picture making as it was back in the silent film era of the 1910s and ‘20s. Back them, women were not just common place, but larger than life and in charge of damn near all of it. They were the heroes of the silver screen, leaping off horses and onto hijacked trains to punch out or shoot down the dastardly men robbing people blind, or celebrating bodily autonomy in dramas about abortion, sex, and women’s rights. These women were in front of and behind the camera, crafting stories for the predominately women audiences all across America to live vicariously through, in a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote and were mostly stuck in a life of housewifery.

The biggest star of the time was Helen Gibson, a former rodeo star who worked her way up from background actor to certified star — and Hollywood’s first stuntwoman. Ginger Rogers may have had to do everything Fred Astaire did backwards and in heels in the 1930s, but before that, Gibson was on film doing everything her male counterparts were doing onscreen without padding, wires, or safety harnesses. When she leapt off the back of a car — or out of an airplane — and onto a speeding train, or did a jump trick on a motorcycle over a flatbed car, she actually one hundred percent went for it, and oftentimes in a long dress that could get snagged on something and potentially kill her. She didn’t have the luxury of green screen and CGI, or even crash landing pads. There was only one shot at a stunt, because to mistime a leap wouldn’t just mean a ruined shot, but the loss of limb or life. Gibson was a bona fide action hero, a female Tom Cruise many decades before there was a Tom Cruise, performing one hair-raising stunt after another and constantly looking to raise the stakes with each outing as cars and airplanes were introduced and made staples of American life.

Gibson, and other women like her, ruled the box office for nearly two decades, and helped build Hollywood into the titan of industry it would become in The Golden Age…which was also the period in which control over film was wrestled away from women and turned into a massive boy’s only club. Mallory O’Meara explores these decades that paint the backdrop of Gibson’s life and career throughout Daughter of Daring, a wonderfully feminist exploration of Hollywood in its infancy and development of the studio system in the years following the First World War. O’Meara delivers a thoroughly researched accounting of women’s agency and it’s “women-made women” powerhouses in front of the camera and behind the scenes, as well as a terribly sobering examination of how the legacy of women in Hollywood was stolen out from under them by various cabals of jealous men and right-wing, white, Christian censorship boards looking to profit off everything these women built and completely strip them of their power and influence until they were mostly forgotten entirely.

O’Meara’s exploration of the growth and development of Hollywood as it became what we know it today is an intriguing, not to mention sobering, look at how things used to be, how far certain groups — namely women and minorities — have fallen, and how far we as a society have yet to go (and will likely have even that much further to go after a second ruinous term of the Trump administration and whatever his plans are for his recently announced three-man band of washed-up, racist, sexist misogynistic actors cum Hollywood Ambassadors confessing to Sean Hannity their longing to be spanked by daddy). Only a few days ago, the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards were announced with plenty of fanfare around Coralie Fargeat’s Best Director nod for the 2024 horror film, The Substance. That a horror film was able to garner five nominations from the notoriously stodgy and historically horror-averse Academy was something of a feat in and of itself, let alone a horror film helmed by a woman and centered around women. Demi Moore also earned a nomination for Best Actress, hot off the heels of her recent Golden Globes win. But Fargeat’s nomination is itself a pretty big deal, making her only the tenth woman in Oscar history to be recognized. To date, only three have actually won. Ten nominations and three wins. In 97 years. Ninety-seven years. Ninety-fucking-seven years!

The typical argument is that there’s so few women directors in Hollywood, and while true now, it’s also important to recognize that it wasn’t always like that! O’Meara does a fabulous job driving this point home throughout the course of Daughter of Daring, exploring and explaining how this atrocious inequity arose and became reinforced in the years following the suffrage movement. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to have gone from hundreds of silent films crafted by women to modern-day studios committing to, maybe, maybe, one women-lensed picture a year — maybe, you know, if they’re good, as a treat; to have gone from a period of such prestigious influence for women in the 1910s and ‘20s to the era of #MeToo a century later. One can’t help but look at the work of Helen Gibson, as recounted by O’Meara, and the women that helped make her career and shape Hollywood in its opening act, and think, sadly and wistfully, they really don’t make films like that anymore.

Like her previous books, Mallory O'Meara does an amazing job of digging into a forgotten piece of history and bringing it to light. I learned so much through this book, not just about Helen Gibson but also about early Hollywood. All of this was presented in a conversational style that drew me in and made me want to keep reading. The level of humor and snark throughout the book that made me laugh at several points. A thoroughly enjoyable read and O'Meara will continue to be an automatic read for me.

This book was not disappointing. It was the first book I've read by this author so I didn't know what to expect. I never knew Helen Gibson's story, which upset me because she seemed to be such an integral part of the film industry during her time. I hope more people pick up this book because the author really captivated Helen's amazing story.

A great story of a Hollywood trailblazer. O'Meara's terrific research and organization not only chronicles Helen Gibson's life and career, it illustrates the sexism and inequality that plagued early twentieth-century America and in many ways continues to plague it today. O'Meara's conversational style of prose makes for easy reading, but sometimes her snarky comments come across as immature and amateurish and undermine the tremendous work she's put into this book. Overall though, a great read, especially for anyone who's interested in film history.

Mallory O'Meara has written a fascinating and funny look at the early days of filmmaking. The book focuses on Helen Gibson, stuntwoman and actress, but it continuously branches off to shine a light on the other important women working in film at the time. With humorous footnotes, O'Meara keeps the tone conversational and the 'girl power' at the forefront. This is an important book that will change the way you look at Hollywood.