It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for In the Shadow of War by Adrienne Chinn: the third book in her Fry Sisters series, it was published by One More Chapter on 22nd March as an ebook on all major platforms, with the paperback to follow on 28th March. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support.
Just sometimes, it’s tough being a blogger with an overflowing reading list – I SO wanted to read and review this book, but just couldn’t find any way to squeeze in another one this month. The first in this series, Love in a Time of War (you’ll find my review here), totally swept me away with its drama, romance, conflict, heartache, richness of detail, wonderfully drawn locations – everything I enjoy about historical fiction, and so beautifully written. The second, The Paris Sister, I thought was even better – this time set against a historical and social backdrop extending from the end of WW1, through the Roaring Twenties, and ending with the Great Depression (you’ll find my review here). I was so looking forward to the third – and it’s one I’ll be sure to catch up on (and review, promise!) before the summer’s over.
But let’s take a closer look…
One war may be over, but their fight for survival continues…
For sisters Etta, Jessie and Celie Fry, the Great War and the hardships of the years that followed have taken a heavy toll.
Determined to leave her painful past behind her, Etta heads to the bright lights of Hollywood whilst Jessie, determined to train as a doctor and use her skills to help others, is hampered by the men who dominate her profession. On the vast, empty plains of the Canadian prairies, Celie and her small family stand on the brink of losing everything.
As whispers of a new war make their way to each sister, each must face the possibility of the unthinkable happening again…
So (wiping away a tear…) no review this time – but I do have a quite wonderful guest post to share from Adrienne, on the search for Scarlett O’Hara…
Theatrical release poster
I’m a huge film buff and I grew up on the old black and white movies of the 1930s and 1940s which were shown regularly on Canadian television. It wasn’t a difficult decision for me to place the youngest Fry sister, romantic, self-centred and delusional Etta, in the heart of Golden Age Hollywood in Book 3 of the Fry Sisters series, In the Shadow of War. Oh, what fun it would be!
Etta becomes an aspiring starlet, despite the inconvenient truth of being in her late thirties. But Etta has ultimate faith in her desirably and talents, and eventually finds herself rubbing up against the top stars, producers and directors of the time. When she hears about the national search for an actress or unknown to play Scarlett O’Hara in the highly anticipated film version of Gone With the Wind, Etta is quick to throw herself into the fray.
Producer David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures orchestrated X Factor type open auditions throughout the US where women showed up in crinolines and bonnets, hoping to win the coveted role of Scarlett, despite having no acting experience. Talent scouts were sent out to Broadway, theatre groups, university drama departments and small towns in the American South, looking for the woman who would become Scarlett.
In the meantime, Selznick started auditioning well-know Hollywood actresses for the role, and everyone wanted to be Scarlett, an epic anti-heroine. Actresses who lined up to audition included Tallulah Bankhead (not innocent enough), Lana Turner (too green), Norma Shearer (who was discounted after the public said ‘No!), Katharine Hepburn (lacking sex appeal), Bette Davis (also lacking sex appeal), and Paulette Goddard who came closest but was scuppered by her unmarried relationship to Charlie Chaplin. Many of these auditions are available on YouTube, and I had a wonderful time watching them all.
As we all know, on the fateful December day that filming commenced with the “burning of Atlanta” (actually the burning of unwanted film sets), with an actor dressed in a wig and women’s clothes standing in for Scarlett as Rhett Butler (a stand-in for Clark Gable) steers their wagon through the city, Vivien Leigh, in Hollywood to visit her husband, Laurence Olivier, who is filming Wuthering Heights, is introduced to David O. Selznick by his brother, talent agent Myron – and the living, breathing Scarlett O’Hara is finally found.
Vivien Leigh
Thank you Adrienne, that was absolutely fascinating – and now I want to read the book even more…!
About the author
Adrienne Chinn was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, grew up in Quebec, and eventually made her way to London, England after a career as a journalist. In England she worked as a TV and film researcher before embarking on a career as an interior designer, lecturer, and writer. When not up a ladder or at the computer writing, she often can be found rummaging through flea markets or haggling in the Marrakech souk.
Her debut novel, The Lost Letter, a timeslip love story set in Morocco, was published by Avon Books UK in 2019. Her second novel, The English Wife – a timeslip story set in World War II England and contemporary Newfoundland – was published in June 2020 and has become an international bestseller. Her third novel, Love in a Time of War, the first in a series of four books in The Three Fry Sisters series, was published in February 2022, with the second book in the series, The Paris Sister, published in February 2023. In the Shadow of War is the third book in the series.
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Oh – I’ll be watching the Scarlett O’Hara audition clips later!
Oh Anne, this sounds amazing! I have Adrienne’s Love in a Time of War coming up on my TBR. Very much looking forward to the read. XXX