The Heart of the Lion

I love Martin Turnbull’s writing. He truly knows how to conjure up Hollywood’s Golden Period. He’s gained popularity for his Garden on Sunset series, about the Garden of Allah apartment complex on Sunset Boulevard. However, he has begun to branch out with other series and also with standalone books. 

This book was his second standalone, about producer/boy wonder Irving Thalberg, and it is a remarkable achievement. The characters really hop off the page, including Thalberg, Marion Davies, Norma Shearer, and others. 

The best part for me was how Turnbull really brought Charles Laughton to life, making him incredibly human and… show more.

Martin Turnbull has produced various series about Hollywood, primarily populated by fictional characters. This book is biographical fiction centered on the boy-wonder movie producer Irving Thalberg of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His life and career are overshadowed by ill-health, yet he managed to make his studio the greatest of the Golden Age, in no small part through his ability to co-exist with studio head Louis B. Mayer. Through her marriage to Thalberg, actress Norma Shearer’s status as MGM’s most popular leading lady, was assured. I felt the portrait of their marriage, a union with both personal and professional ramifications, and the depiction of… show more.