The bright lights of the theater district, the glamour and danger of
1950s New York, and the wild scene at the iconic Chelsea Hotel come
together in a dazzling new novel about a twenty-year friendship that
will irrevocably change two women's lives--from the New York Times
bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue.
From the dramatic redbrick facade to the sweeping staircase dripping
with art, the Chelsea Hotel has long been New York City's creative oasis
for the many artists, writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and poets
who have called it home--a scene playwright Hazel Riley and actress
Maxine Mead are determined to use to their advantage. Yet they soon
discover that the greatest obstacle to putting up a show on Broadway has
nothing to do with their art, and everything to do with politics. A Red
Scare is sweeping across America, and Senator Joseph McCarthy has
started a witch hunt for communists, with those in the entertainment
industry in the crosshairs. As the pressure builds to name names, it is
more than Hazel and Maxine's Broadway dreams that may suffer as they
grapple with the terrible consequences, but also their livelihood, their
friendship, and even their freedom.
Spanning from the 1940s to the 1960s, The Chelsea Girls deftly pulls
back the curtain on the desperate political pressures of McCarthyism,
the complicated bonds of female friendship, and the siren call of the
uninhibited Chelsea Hotel.
