Book Review: Inventing the It Girl by Hilary A. Hallett (2022)

Synopsis: In 1907, English aristocrat Elinor Glyn published Three Weeks, a steamy romance novel that while controversial for the time, became a best seller and is credited with helping start a new sexual revolution that carried over into other forms of media, like the growing film industry. This biography discusses Elinor's life, her success and the unsatisfying marriage that inspired her novel.

Review: I had heard the name Elinor Glyn before but honestly didn't know much about her other than she wrote a book that I would describe as the early 20th century equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, at least as far as impact/controversy are concerned. So, when I happened to come across Inventing the It Girl while searching for another book, I decided to get a copy through my library. 

Overall, I would describe this biography as both informative and entertaining.

The author does a great job setting the scene for the reader by describing both Elinor's life and England's gentry class during and after the Victorian era in general. This is especially true of her description of elite marriages at the time, when adultery was both expected but still frowned upon. It made it easy to understand why Three Weeks, while somewhat tame by today's standards, would cause such a stir.

Elinor's reason for writing the book, as told by Hallett, was equally intriguing, a combination of an unsatisfying sex life, time recovering from various health conditions, including one that may have been psychologically caused by said sex life, and possibly out of revenge toward her husband after he sent one of her male friends away, even though Elinor had remained faithful to her marriage. It's an intriguing tale that ironically sounds like something that belongs in a romance novel.

Elinor's life after Three Weeks was also interesting to read about, whether as her being a feminine icon as one of very few successful (and still living) female writers and how she brought her ability to create strong, independent and seductive female characters to Hollywood, influencing multiple early actresses, while also spending time reporting from the front lines during World War I. 

In other words, Elinor was a role model and this book made sure to show it.

Final Opinion: As I said before, it is an informative and entertaining book that talks both about its main subject and the world she grew up in and ultimately changed. It's worth taking the time to read.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other books about impactful women:

Book Review: Code Name Blue Wren by Jim Popkin (2023)

Book Review: Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell (2021)

Book Review: Hedy's Folly by Richard Rhodes (2011)

Book Review: The Pirate Queen by Susan Ronald (2007)