This book is a pretty comprehensive look at the many muses of Andy Warhol. Let me say at the outset that I find him to be a miserable, selfish person who was more a merchandiser than an artist, and this book did nothing to dispel that opinon. I picked this up because I was interested in how these people came to be associated with him, and what happened to them after their time in the Factory with him. I liked how this book spoke to a lot of people who were there at the time, and especially the update at the end of the book as to what happened to them later in life. It was a quick read, and entertaining.

Warhol’s Muses: The Artists, Misfits, and Superstars Destroyed by the Factory Fame Machine by Laurence Leamer is an enthralling and tragic exploration of the women whose lives were forever changed—often for the worse—by their proximity to Andy Warhol’s orbit. Leamer’s narrative is both a glittering ode to the chaotic allure of 1960s Manhattan and a sobering account of the emotional and psychological cost of fame under Warhol’s manipulative, voyeuristic gaze.

The strength of this book lies in how Leamer humanizes Warhol’s "Superstars." Figures like Edie Sedgwick, Nico, and Candy Darling have often been reduced to pop culture footnotes or tragic archetypes of the "It girl" who burned too brightly. Here, they are portrayed with depth and complexity—not just as muses but as ambitious, flawed, and ultimately vulnerable women who were drawn into Warhol’s world in pursuit of identity, freedom, and creative expression. Leamer excels at placing each woman within the broader cultural and personal context that shaped her decisions, making their stories feel personal rather than sensationalized.

Warhol himself is depicted with a mixture of awe and indictment. Leamer doesn’t shy away from portraying the darker side of his genius—his ability to reduce people to aesthetic objects, his cold detachment from the chaos and suffering around him, and his role as a puppet master who both elevated and destroyed the women who trusted him. Warhol’s confession about watching people self-destruct for the sake of art haunts the entire narrative. Yet Leamer also acknowledges Warhol’s vulnerability—his lifelong fear of death, his asexuality amid the sexual revolution, and his near-fatal shooting in 1968, which forever altered his demeanor and work.

The vivid descriptions of the Factory’s hedonistic culture—the wild parties, the pervasive drug use, and the voyeuristic art installations—transport the reader into a world that was equal parts creative wonderland and emotional wasteland. Leamer captures the dissonance of a place where dreams were born and extinguished in the same breath, where casual cruelty was masked as avant-garde coolness.

One of the most poignant elements of the book is its focus on the aftermath for Warhol’s muses. While Warhol continued to rise in prominence after surviving the shooting, many of the women he made famous struggled with addiction, isolation, and obscurity. Leamer doesn’t romanticize their falls from grace but instead examines the social forces—misogyny, addiction, and a culture obsessed with youth and beauty—that made their stories so tragically common. The author also questions the nature of agency: Did these women make their own choices, or were they victims of a system they didn’t fully understand until it was too late?

If there’s a critique, it’s that the book sometimes skims over key details in favor of broader storytelling. Certain figures—such as Nico and Viva—deserve more in-depth exploration, as their stories feel abbreviated compared to more iconic muses like Edie Sedgwick. Additionally, some readers may wish for more analysis of Warhol’s complex psychology and the role of queerness in his art and relationships, rather than solely focusing on his detachment and manipulations.

At 4 stars, Warhol’s Muses is a gripping and often heartbreaking portrait of fame, exploitation, and the fleeting allure of the Factory’s silver-lined world. Laurence Leamer’s meticulous research and empathetic storytelling breathe life into these forgotten muses, reclaiming their narratives from the shadows of Warhol’s legacy. For anyone fascinated by the countercultural explosion of the 1960s or the complexities of artist-muse dynamics, this book offers a captivating and cautionary glimpse into a world where beauty, ambition, and art collided with devastating consequences.

We know their names, or their faces, and FINALLY there was a book that would share more about these women in Andy Warhol's orbit. This was a very well researched biographical compilation of these individuals. It was sad to read how they were manipulated, used, taken advantage of, etc. I will forever look at Andy Warhol in a different way.

3.5 stars. I’ve enjoyed the books from Leamer that I’ve read, but this was a bit tougher to connect with.

The novel covers Warhol’s relationships with ten of his “superstars” including Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Candy Darling, Baby Jane Holzer, Brigid Berlin, Mary Woronov, International Velvet, Viva, UltraViolet and Ingrid Superstar. I don’t know that any of them escaped his orbit unscathed.

Leamer wrote a great book on Truman Capote and his swans (I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in the topic) that became the basis for the recent “Feud” miniseries. The big difference between Capote and Warhol is that while Capote certainly used the swans for status he also offered him his loyal friendship (well, til the end) and a terribly witty and welcome dinner guest and alternative to their husbands.

Warhol? He appears to be nothing but a truly awful man with no genuine feeling for anyone, an absolute, unrepentant user. His it girls were often desperate for his help, for him to be the friend they had been to him and he not only withheld, he often hoped they would commit suicide so he could film it. So quite the charmer! He also treated his lovers and everyone associated with the Factory this way.

“…what he does is morally indefensible. He is a kind of confidence man, preying on people’s vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse.” So that’s Andy Warhol. Prior to reading this book I always had a generally positive opinion about him, knowing that he was from Pittsburgh and that he was not from money, but was entirely self-created, but the book has definitely colored my view, a very, very solid black.

As to the book I missed Warhol and the Factory during its heyday and though the names of some of these women are vaguely familiar to me, I lack context. Those who lived through the era may enjoy the book more, though I still liked it fine. Leamer does a good job with subjects like this and he’s quickly becoming a “must read” for me.

Warhol's Muses by Laurence Leamer is an extremely detailed account of women surrounding Warhol at the famed Factory. This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the 60's counterculture, Warhol, and his art creating processes. Leamer explores the lives of 10 women, brings them to life, honors them and respects them in ways Warhol failed.

I enjoyed Warhol’s Muses by Laurence Leamer and found it fascinating to learn about the women who influenced Andy Warhol’s life and art. The book offers compelling insights into these muses, though I felt the pacing was a bit slow at times. Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in Warhol or fans of Leamer’s previous work, Capote’s Women. Both books explore how their central figures used the women around them to shape and perpetuate their own fame, making for an intriguing parallel.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was interesting to learn about Andy Warhol and the muses he had. It was informative and worked with the overall feel that I was expecting. Laurence Leamer wrote this well and enjoyed the overall research that was put into it.

I received this as digital galley from NetGalley.

Well after reading Gopnik's 976 biography of Warhol and this book by Leamer on Warhol's 'muses' my opinion on Andy Warhol has been firmly cemented as an awful person who ruined people's lives!

Leamer does a good job of giving each of Warhol's muses a portrait and personality of their own and I enjoyed reading about the ones that I did not know as much about (Baby Jane Holzer, Ultra Violet) as well as others that I have read lots about (mainly Edie).

Has someone written about how so many 60s counterculture stars experienced wildly conservative turns in their older age? There's something there.