A talented young actress, a leading man, a sexy secret—the role of a lifetime
In this big, juicy literary novel from bestselling author Amy Sohn, an ambitious young actress discovers that every marriage is a mystery and that sometimes the greatest performances don’t take place on screen.
When Hollywood heartthrob Steven Weller pulls Maddy Freed out of obscurity for a starring part in his newest, Oscar-worthy film, she feels her career roaring onto the express track. Steven’s professional attention soon turns personal as they are thrown together amid Europe’s Old World charm, and Maddy allows herself to tumble headlong into a fairytale romance with the world’s most eligible bachelor. She knows there’s no truth to the gay rumors that have followed him for years.
Yet what is it that Steven sees in Maddy that he has not seen in his string of past girlfriends? Steven tells her he is drawn to her stunning gift as an actress—her ability to inhabit a character so seamlessly, so convincingly, that it is nearly impossible to tell she is playing a role—a compliment that becomes more ominous as their marriage progresses. Ultimately, as Maddy’s own happiness and success grow intertwined with her new husband’s, she cannot afford to ask too many questions about Steven’s complicated past. But can she ignore her inner voice, and her instincts about her own worth?
Set in a tantalizing world of glamour and scandal, of red carpets and ruthless competition, of scheming agents and the prying eye of the press, The Actress is a romantic, sophisticated page-turner about the price of ambition, the treachery of love, and the roles we all play.
Download and start listening now!
“The great strength of The Actress lies in Sohn’s narrativizing of Maddy’s…journey from innocent to hardened veteran, as a Gaslight-style
mystery. Our heroine is dropped into the cauldron of Hollywood life,
[and] Sohn very smartly dramatizes the contradictory dictates the
true-to-life industry imposes on many actresses…A valuable contribution
to the canon of Hollywood fiction.”
—
Slate