A fictionalized portrait of Golden Age–Hollywood’s original blonde bombshell, the ambitious star who battled real-life drama as she lit up the screen.
It’s the Roaring Twenties and seventeen-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew has run off to Beverly Hills. She’s chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and see her name in lights.
In California, Harlean has everything a girl could want—a rich husband, glamorous parties, socialite friends—except an outlet for her talent. But everything changes when a dare pushes her to embrace her true ambition—to be an actress on the silver screen. With her timeless beauty and striking shade of platinum-blond hair, Harlean becomes Jean Harlow. And as she’s thrust into the limelight, Jean learns that this new world of opportunity comes with its own set of burdens. Torn between her family and her passion to perform, Jean is forced to confront the difficult truth—that fame comes at a price, if only she’s willing to pay it . . .
Amid a glittering cast of ingenues and Hollywood titans—Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Laurel and Hardy, Howard Hughes—Platinum Doll introduces us to the star who would shine brighter than them all.
Praise for Platinum Doll
“A fascinating, page-turning, behind-the-scenes look at what it took to be a celebrity in early Hollywood.” —Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End
“[Girard] brings Harlow to life.” —The Globe and Mail
“An engrossing look at a Hollywood icon. I couldn’t put it down.” —Karleen Koen, New York Times–bestselling author of Through a Glass Darkly
“Jean’s is a moving story of love and hard choices, and she leaps off these pages shining as bright as her signature platinum hair.” —Marci Jefferson, author of Girl on the Golden Coin and Enchantress of Paris
“Will entrance readers as Harlow entranced the world.” —Heather Webb, author of Rodin’s Lover
“A gem of a book.” —The Historical Novel Society
