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A Touch of Stardust A Novel Kate Alcott Books

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A Touch of Stardust A Novel Kate Alcott Books

I love Carole Lombard and I love GWTW; I like "A Touch of Stardust", but I don't come close to loving it.. The story for the most part is a very pleasant one - except for a subplot which has been done many times with nothing new added - whose timeline follows the filming of the movie. However, the principal characters are not film stars, rather they are Julie, a recent Smith College grad, and Andy, a Jewish assistant to GWTW producer David Szelnick. Andy's heritage is significant because GWTW was released in 1939, just prior to WWII, the Holocaust, etc., etc. Julie miraculously becomes personal assistant and friend of Lombard, who at the time, is waiting for Gable's 2nd wife to OK a divorce so that Ma and Pa can wed. In the meantime, Julie meets the much older Andy whose grandparents have refused to leave Germany - and you can guess the rest. We learn of all the tender moments between Ma and Pa, Pa's dentures, bad breath, and limited performance abilities in the marital bed (all well documented in most bios), but very little about the "chemistry" between Scarlett and Rhett. Not a lot happens in the story, the ending is somewhat reminiscent of movie scripts from the 30s and 40s, more "Casablanca" than "My Man Godfrey" but it was OK. An epilogue includes Lombard's tragic passing 3 years later. I think I would have preferred a different approach, one that dealt with the Lombard/Gable story from beginning to end. A pleasant diversion, not an award winner.


Tags : Amazon.com: A Touch of Stardust: A Novel (9780385539043): Kate Alcott: Books,Kate Alcott,A Touch of Stardust: A Novel,Doubleday,0385539045,Romance - Historical - General,Biographical fiction,Biographical fiction.,Gable, Clark,Historical fiction,Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.),Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.);Fiction.,Lombard, Carole,Love stories,Motion picture actors and actresses,Motion picture actors and actresses;Fiction.,1901-1960,1908-1942,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,AMERICAN LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,Biographical,California,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Biographical,Fiction Historical,Fiction Romance Historical General,Fiction-Romance,FictionHistorical - General,GENERAL,Gable, Clark,,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical romance,Lombard, Carole,,Love stories,Motion picture actors and actresses,Motion picture actors and actresses;Fiction.,Romance - Historical - General,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical,United States,Biographical,Fiction Biographical,Fiction Historical,Fiction Romance Historical General,FictionHistorical - General,Historical - General,Fiction - General,1901-1960,1908-1942,Gable, Clark,,Lombard, Carole,,American Historical Fiction,American Light Romantic Fiction,Fiction,Romance: Historical,Historical romance

A Touch of Stardust A Novel Kate Alcott Books Reviews

I enjoy her fact based fiction. She has taken a high profile happening and made it very personal. At first I was overwhelmed by the subject. The characters were larger than life. The historical footprint was immense. The finely drawn characters helped me understand what my very young parents were facing with war a very real possibility and relatives facing extermination in Russia. I loved the trip through the saga of Gone with the Wind. A novel I could not put down.
Ever since I read "The Dressmaker" I have been a fan of Kate Alcott. Each one of her novels tackles a piece of history. And in this case it is the golden age of Hollywood. Specifically the story of Gable and Lombard and the making of Gone With The Wind. I learned a lot from this novel and it touches on subjects from sexism in Hollywood to anti-semitism.Ms.Alcott has a marvelous way about her when writing historical fiction. THIS IS A GREAT READ AND I look forward to her next book. Wherever Carol Lombard is right now, she would be thrilled by the voice Ms.Alcott has,given her.
Loved the back story about the making of GWTW, and also the scenes with Lombard and Gable. Main problem is the main character, who the author states is an "everywoman". She is totally forgettable, no depth and no real back story other than her rich parents want her to go back to Indiana. This could have been much more enjoyable if we had any idea of who this woman was. I felt like I knew Carole Lombard better than the main character in this book.
The story was set in Hollywood, during the filming of my favorite movie ever--"Gone With The Wind". A fictional account of a girl, Julie Crawford, from Fort Wayne, Indiana who goes to Hollywood, with the intention of becoming a writer of screenplays. As in all good stories, she quickly becomes the assistant to Carole Lombard, whose love was Clark Gable. Gable was, at that time, working on "GWTW" with Vivian Leigh. The story interestingly goes into the problems of a movie of that length and magnitude, while at the same time developing a love story between Julie and Andy. World War ll was lurking on the horizon, and casting a shadow over the future of Julie and Andy. There are several storylines at work at the same time, all interesting, including Gable's struggle to shed his wife so he can marry Carole. He does, and they marry, but there is tragedy coming to them........I like a book that will keep me rushing back to it because I am so engrossed in the story, even if, in this case, I have an idea how things turn out. This is such a book.
So sorry to say it, but this narrative was largely a snooze. However, it's likely to be more engaging for readers unfamiliar with the Gone With the Wind behind-the-scenes stories that have been told ad nauseam over the years. As a huge fan of the movie and Old Hollywood, this story felt very redundant, with characters sounding more like Wikipedia sound bites than engaging people.

Moreover, the female lead Julie Crawford just wasn't engaging enough to offset the GWTW-lore dumps. It felt as if Julie was in the way, blocking greater insight to the far more interesting Carole Lombard, David O. Selznick, etc.

On the positive side, I did get a sense of the author's love and passion for the film and for Hollywood, particularly in the Epilogue and Author's Note at the end.
I love Carole Lombard, and read everything about her. I watch old movies on TCM every night. I love the golden age of Hollywood. So, I thought this book would be right up my alley, I was right! It is a wonderful novel about several topics all beautifully blended into a delightfully written story. It is about a Midwestern girl who goes to Hollywood to become a writer, but in the meantime gets the dream job of being Carole Lombard's assistant. The story is about Carole Lombard and Clark Gable's life during the time of his filming Gone With The Wind ... combined with the story of the girl and her complicated new life in Hollywood. There are historical / factual parts of the story, intermixed with pure fiction. I could not put the book down, and was sad when it was over. I wanted to keep reading about these people and what happens to them all next!
I love Carole Lombard and I love GWTW; I like "A Touch of Stardust", but I don't come close to loving it.. The story for the most part is a very pleasant one - except for a subplot which has been done many times with nothing new added - whose timeline follows the filming of the movie. However, the principal characters are not film stars, rather they are Julie, a recent Smith College grad, and Andy, a Jewish assistant to GWTW producer David Szelnick. Andy's heritage is significant because GWTW was released in 1939, just prior to WWII, the Holocaust, etc., etc. Julie miraculously becomes personal assistant and friend of Lombard, who at the time, is waiting for Gable's 2nd wife to OK a divorce so that Ma and Pa can wed. In the meantime, Julie meets the much older Andy whose grandparents have refused to leave Germany - and you can guess the rest. We learn of all the tender moments between Ma and Pa, Pa's dentures, bad breath, and limited performance abilities in the marital bed (all well documented in most bios), but very little about the "chemistry" between Scarlett and Rhett. Not a lot happens in the story, the ending is somewhat reminiscent of movie scripts from the 30s and 40s, more "Casablanca" than "My Man Godfrey" but it was OK. An epilogue includes Lombard's tragic passing 3 years later. I think I would have preferred a different approach, one that dealt with the Lombard/Gable story from beginning to end. A pleasant diversion, not an award winner.