The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
The young and beautiful Hedy Kiesler steals the stage in the 1930's pre war Austria. Her incredible beauty and talent doesn't go unnoticed. Wealthy arms manufacturer, Fritz Mandl fills her dressing room with roses each night until Hedy, along with her parents agree that a marriage with this man is in all of their best interests. The honeymoon has barely started when Hedy realizes this will never be a marriage of love.
Fritz locks Hedy inside their various homes during the day and host dinner parties at night. Hedy, however keeps her mouth closed and ears opens while she plays hostess to Fritz's customers who include those in power and hoping to come to power all over Europe. When Austria falls into Hitler's hands, Hedy plans her escape.
Hedy becomes Hedy Lamarr as she sails across the Atlantic with Louis B. Mayer. Her Hollywood career has begun. But that's where the telling of this story begins to fall apart. I'd heard about Hedy Lamarr's inventions and patents but her scientific mind is barely highlighted leading up to her invention intended to help the Navy launch torpedos. To the reader, that she even had the ability to create such a technical machine seemed far fetched.
The Other Woman in the Room is a fictional depiction of the true accomplishments of actress Hedy Lamarr. But the book fell short in allowing the reader to believe she had the guts, gumption and knowledge to accomplish such a feat. I wanted more from this story. We need more women role models in history and we need to know Hedy Lamarr's motivations but this novel only skimmed the surface.
The young and beautiful Hedy Kiesler steals the stage in the 1930's pre war Austria. Her incredible beauty and talent doesn't go unnoticed. Wealthy arms manufacturer, Fritz Mandl fills her dressing room with roses each night until Hedy, along with her parents agree that a marriage with this man is in all of their best interests. The honeymoon has barely started when Hedy realizes this will never be a marriage of love.
Fritz locks Hedy inside their various homes during the day and host dinner parties at night. Hedy, however keeps her mouth closed and ears opens while she plays hostess to Fritz's customers who include those in power and hoping to come to power all over Europe. When Austria falls into Hitler's hands, Hedy plans her escape.
Hedy becomes Hedy Lamarr as she sails across the Atlantic with Louis B. Mayer. Her Hollywood career has begun. But that's where the telling of this story begins to fall apart. I'd heard about Hedy Lamarr's inventions and patents but her scientific mind is barely highlighted leading up to her invention intended to help the Navy launch torpedos. To the reader, that she even had the ability to create such a technical machine seemed far fetched.
The Other Woman in the Room is a fictional depiction of the true accomplishments of actress Hedy Lamarr. But the book fell short in allowing the reader to believe she had the guts, gumption and knowledge to accomplish such a feat. I wanted more from this story. We need more women role models in history and we need to know Hedy Lamarr's motivations but this novel only skimmed the surface.
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