The Blue Butterfly
A Novel of Marion Davies
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Narrated by:
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Rachel Fulginiti
About this listen
New York, 1915. Marion Davies is a shy 18-year-old beauty dancing on the Broadway stage when she meets William Randolph Hearst and finds herself captivated by his riches, passion, and desire to make her a movie star.
Following a whirlwind courtship, she learns through trial and error to live as Hearst’s mistress when a divorce from his wife proves impossible. A baby girl is born in secret in 1919 and they agree to never acknowledge her publicly as their own. In a burgeoning Hollywood scene, she works hard making movies while living a lavish partying life that includes a secret love affair with Charlie Chaplin.
In late 1937, at the height of the depression, Hearst wrestles with his debtors and failing health, as Marion loans him $1M when nobody else will. Together, they must confront the movie that threatens to invalidate all of Marion’s successes in the movie industry: Citizen Kane.
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- Unabridged
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1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly dazzling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.
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Perfectly Voices, Upliftingly Fun
- By Syd Young on 04-15-22
By: Eliza Knight
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Boardwalk Summer
- A Novel
- By: Meredith Jaeger
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel, Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In this new novel from the author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and 70 years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer. Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test.
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Wonderful Story set in Santa Cruz.
- By Christina on 11-02-19
By: Meredith Jaeger
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Grand Central
- Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
- By: Melanie Benjamin, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and others
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
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Grand Central: Memories
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 05-03-17
By: Melanie Benjamin, and others
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A Week at the Lake
- By: Wendy Wax
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty years ago Emma Michaels, Mackenzie Hayes, and Serena Stockton bonded over their New York City dreams. Then, each summer, they solidified their friendship by spending one week at the lake together, solving their problems over bottles of wine and gallons of ice cream. They kept the tradition for years, until jealousy, lies, and life's disappointments made them drift apart. It's been five years since Emma has seen her friends, an absence designed to keep them from discovering a long-ago betrayal. Now she's in desperate need of their support.
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Bechdel Testing Wendy Wax
- By Elizabeth on 09-26-15
By: Wendy Wax
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Mata Hari's Last Dance
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Moran
- Narrated by: Zara Ramm
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, 1917. The notorious dancer Mata Hari sits in a cold cell awaiting freedom...or death. Alone and despondent, she is as confused as the rest of the world about the charges she's been arrested on: treason leading to the deaths of thousands of French soldiers. As she waits for her fate to be decided, she relays the story of her life to a reporter who is allowed to visit her in prison.
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Throughly enjoyable
- By scalante on 09-07-16
By: Michelle Moran
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Chanel Bonfire
- By: Wendy Lawless
- Narrated by: Wendy Lawless
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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By the time Wendy Lawless turned 17, she'd known for quite some time that she didn't have a normal mother. But that didn't stop her from wanting one.... Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She went through men like Kleenex, and didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.
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Not an Engaging Listen
- By Sobriquet on 03-13-13
By: Wendy Lawless
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Veil of Roses
- By: Laura Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Tamila Soroush wanted it all. But in the Islamic Republic of Iran, dreams are a dangerous thing for a girl. Tami abandons them…until her twenty-seventh birthday, when her parents give her a one-way ticket to America, hoping she will “go and wake up her luck.” If they have their way, Tami will never return to Iran…which means she has three months to find a husband in America.
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Rooting for freedom
- By Newman on 07-10-13
By: Laura Fitzgerald
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Silver Wattle
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In fear for their lives after the sudden death of their mother, Adéla and Klára must flee Prague to find refuge with their uncle in Australia. Later, Adéla becomes a film director at a time when the local industry is starting to feel the competition from Hollywood. But even while success is imminent, the issues of family and an impossible love are never far away.
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Groan, Snore and Wince!
- By OrangeWisteria on 02-12-12
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Call Me Zelda
- By: Erika Robuck
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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From New York to Paris, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald reigned as king and queen of the Jazz Age, seeming to float on champagne bubbles above the mundane cares of the world. But to those who truly knew them, the endless parties were only a distraction from their inner turmoil and from a love that united them with a scorching intensity.
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If you want to read about Zelda and Scott, move on
- By Leahmgordon on 11-14-17
By: Erika Robuck
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Marjorie Morningstar
- By: Herman Wouk
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 28 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Marjorie Morningstar is a love story. It presents one of the greatest characters in modern fiction: Marjorie, the pretty 17-year-old who left the respectability of New York's Central Park West to join the theater, live in the teeming streets of Greenwich Village, and seek love in the arms of a brilliant, enigmatic writer.
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Great story with really cheesy narration
- By James on 05-05-12
By: Herman Wouk
What listeners say about The Blue Butterfly
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- LopezC
- 07-23-24
A good story
As someone who visited “the ranch” recently this was such a great story. Finished it in a week, and really draws you into the story
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- Deborah Fiscus
- 10-15-24
Fascinating story to tell, wish it had been told better
I love history and historical fiction and the reviews on this one were good so I jumped in.
The subject matter was fascinating but the writing left the characters one dimensional and the dialogue made Marion sound whiny much of the time. It’s too bad. I wanted to like it more
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- Christine
- 05-09-23
Loved this novel!
The Blue Butterfly
By: Leslie Johansen Nack
Narrator: Rachel Fulginiti
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
New York in 1915 is full of glamor and parties but it also has a dark side. The Golden Age of Hollywood has always fascinated me.
Eighteen-year-old Marion Davies dances on Broadway and meets William Randolph Hearst, or WR to her. She is smitten as he courts her with jewels and promises. He wants to make her a movie star. Two things standing in her way are WR is married and she becomes pregnant.
She agrees to let her sister and brother-in-law adopt their baby and not acknowledge that its their child. She sails to Paris to deliver the baby and WR spoils her the whole way. He definitely was devoted to her and she stood by him even during tough times.
Marion and Williams love affair lasts for years. She went on to star in silent films. During depression Hearst health and wealth are failing, and she bails him out. This novel is based on the true story of this complicated couple.
The narrator was perfect for this beautiful story.
I thoroughly enjoyed their story and it takes you back in time. Now I am ready to sit back and watch an old Hollywood movie.
Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and author Leslie Johansson Nack for this audio. Out now!
#thebluebutterfly, #lesliejohansennack, #audiobook, #bookreview, #audible, #booksconnectus, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50, #suzyapprovedbooktours
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Fascinating look at the life of Marion Davies
This is a fascinating look inside the career of actress Marion Davies and her almost lifelong affair with William Randolph Hearst. I enjoyed the glimpse into old Hollywood and the parade of well-known names of that era. Charlie Chaplin makes an appearance as one of her lovers and I found that part of the story incredibly interesting too. I listened to the audiobook and it's narrated beautifully by the wonderful Rachel Fulginiti. A must read for anyone interested in a piece of Hollywood history.
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- Subakka.bookstuff
- 05-28-23
A fascinating and juicy story
I must admit, I had not heard of Marion Davies before listening to this, but I knew of many in her closest circle - including her lovers William Randolph Hearst and Charlie Chaplin.
As a young woman who started out as a Broadway dancer, Marion caught the eye of the extremely wealthy, much older, and very married William Randolph Hearst. As they start a lengthy affair, Marion is exposed to the lifestyle of the new scene in Hollywood.
Although I couldn’t understand why Marion would want to live as a mistress, she was much more savvy than I first gave her credit for. This is a fascinating and juicy story. You get a blend of the historical with iconic places and the names of those from early 1920s & ‘30s movies. But there’s plenty of drama, infidelity, and even a secret baby - this is Hollywood, after all!
I had fun with this one.
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- Debbie Rozier
- 04-24-23
Excellent
I love historical fiction based on movie icons in this era so I was completed captivated from start to finish.
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- Joanna Olson
- 05-22-23
Very interesting!
The Blue Butterfly opened my eyes to theater and movies in the early 1900s. The author takes us through Marion’s whole life and at times I found the book reading more like a biography rather than a historical fiction but much of the book is based on her actual life so it made sense. Marion’s life was anything but ordinary, but I can’t help but wonder if she would have done more of what she wanted to do professionally if she didn’t have WR in her ear. But it’s true that money can buy anything! I went through phases of loving Marion and wanting to shake her. My favorite character was sweet Patricia. One thing I enjoyed about the novel was all of the history about travel during that timeframe. From yachts to boats to trains, I liked hearing about how travel had evolved. The transformation of film and media was also interesting!
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- Candace Kieley
- 12-29-23
The history.
Slow. Too long. Wanted the story to go faster with the history I knew. Ready for the end.
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- Anonymous User
- 05-04-23
Fascinating
What a fantastic story and listening to the audio was an amazing experience, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. I felt it was Marion’s voice. Addictive, mesmerizing and captivating. Loved it so much!
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-21-23
Great story!! I felt like I was part of it.
Interesting characters and great story line. Leslie did it again. I’m looking forward to more of her writings.
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