The Blue Butterfly: A Novel of Marion Davies
When I saw that this novel was about Marion Davies, I knew I had to read it. I wanted to know the real story behind the woman who was the model for Susan Alexander, the film character who brings down Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane, and what a story it is! Davies grows up believing she has only one option for financial security: to find and marry a wealthy man. She catches the eye of the wealthiest man in the world in the form of William Randolph Hearst — a newspaper publisher, a movie mogul, and a builder of castles all in one.
The problem is that he is already married with five sons. This fact does not stop him from relentlessly pursuing the blue-eyed blonde, promising that someday he will marry her. He doesn’t. Instead, he lives two lives—one with his family and one with Marion and her family. While Davies does enjoy Hearst’s money, she has the misfortune of also being in love with him. For Marion, the humiliation of being the mistress is excruciating, but she’s clever and hardworking and eventually makes a name and fortune for herself on the silver screen.
Nack has chosen a wonderful subject for a novel. The book reads as if it really is Davies’ autobiography. The actress was not highly educated, but she was smart and spirited, qualities that make the reader root for her. This story is also a timely reminder of what women would have been up against in Hollywood. Marion Davies was no simpering Susan Alexander. She was a brave and complex figure, whose true potential was stifled by a powerful, overbearing man.
