About the Book
It’s 1965 and Cosmopolitan magazine’s brazen new editor-in-chief—Helen Gurley Brown—shocks America and saves a dying publication by daring to talk to women about all things off-limits…
New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss, who leaves her small midwestern town to chase her big-city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for the first female editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, Helen Gurley Brown.
Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, and confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands. When someone tries to pull Alice into a scheme to sabotage her boss, she is more determined than ever to help Helen succeed. While pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown’s world, a woman can demand to have it all.
My Review
What a fascinating read. I don’t always go for historical fiction, but because this novel focused on the magazine Cosmopolitan – which I was an avid reader of back in my day and is a huge publication now, I had to read the backstory of how this magazine came to be what it is today- and how it almost collapsed prior to all the success. I devoured this book in just a few sittings, and was absolutely riveted by the storyline. I loved feeling transported back to 1965 in New York City, and seeing what it was like for women who were determined to succeed, but with so little opportunities given to them in the male-dominated work world. Park Avenue Summer is a perfect addition to your summer reading list, and I so highly recommend you check this one out.
5 stars
