A Golden Life: A Novel

by Ginny Kubitz Moyer

Overview

Embark on a journey to 1930s California in Ginny Kubitz Moyer’s spellbinding historical novel in which a woman must choose between friendship and her own secrets.

It’s 1938, and twenty-five-year-old secretary Frances Healey is ready for a fresh start. Hoping to forget her painful past, she takes a job working for Hollywood producer Lawrence Merrill. She quickly becomes absorbed in VistaGlen Studios’s biggest project: a movie about Kitty Ridley, the legendary stage actress who disappeared from the public eye in 1895. The movie will be the making of Belinda Vail, a beautiful ingenue who is hungry for a breakout role—and also happens to be Mr. Merrill’s love interest.

But the real Miss Ridley has other ideas. Now ninety years old, she writes a scathing letter insisting the studio halt production of the film. Hoping to change her mind, Frances and Mr. Merrill embark on a trip to find the actress—only to land in a Victorian farmhouse in the Napa Valley. But as she learns the truth of Miss Ridley’s life, Frances finds herself confronting the very past she’s been trying to forget. And with the arrival of the ambitious Belinda, loyalties will be tested, bonds will be forged, and Frances will learn where true happiness lies. Set in Hollywood and the sun-drenched Napa countryside, A Golden Life explores friendship, forgiveness, and the power of honoring your own story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647427221
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	09/24/2024
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ginny Kubitz Moyer is a California native with a love of local history. She is the author of the novel The Seeing Garden (She Writes Press, 2023) as well as several works of spiritual nonfiction. A graduate of Pomona College and Stanford University, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two sons, and one rescue dog.

Editorial Reviews

The author captures 1930s California with meticulous detail and has masterfully created characters with depth and authenticity. . . . the narrative thrums with suspense . . . A delightful human drama. . . .” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Ginny Kubitz Moyer weaves a tapestry of fascinating characters destiny appears to have brought together. Though they lived close to a century ago—which Moyer captures in minute and believable detail—their concerns and challenges will speak to contemporary readers. A well-written, lively, and engaging read!” —Jude Berman, author of The Die and The Vow

“In the expert hands of Ginny Kubitz Moyer, A Golden Life is a dazzling story set in Hollywood’s dream factory. Frances Healey, an ambitious, young secretary finds herself in the front office where scripts are approved and dreams are born. Frances has her own secrets, with moxie and grit, she navigates the business with an eye for storytelling and a heart that will change the course of the business of the studio. A fabulous read!” —Adriana Trigiani, author of The Good Left Undone

“A Golden Life is a wonderful portrait of an independent woman in 1930s California that explores the ways in which women’s lives were constrained by the mores of the time. The settings are beautifully drawn and developed—special and loving attention is paid to the beauty of the natural world. Ginny Kubitz Moyer writes with quiet authority and strong prose, creating a novel that is hard to put down and characters that remain long after the book is read.” —Laura Spence-Ash, author of Beyond That, the Sea

“Complex, engaging, and beautifully written, A Golden Life is a celebration of the human condition in all its vanity and weakness, finally transcended by forgiveness and love. You will not want this novel to end.” —Marian O’Shea Wernicke, author of Toward That Which Is Beautiful and Out of Ireland

“Step into the late 1930s epicenter of Hollywood’s Golden Age. . . . Moyer touches on larger life issues, including women’s limited choices and stereotypes and how society came to expect relationships to emulate the glittery romance Hollywood cinema created. Unputdownable!” —Francine Falk-Allen, author of A Wolff in the Family and Not a Poster Child


“A Golden Life masterfully captures the Golden Age of Hollywood. The prose glimmers with tension and mystery, revealing the raw ambition and resilience that define a young, headstrong woman's journey through early adulthood. It’s a luminous tale that lingers, like the echo of applause after the final curtain falls.” —Joanne Howard, author of Sleeping in the Sun


“In this captivating novel, a young woman becomes the confidante to both the powerful and powerless of Old Hollywood—all while trying to outrun her own painful past. Ginny Kubitz Moyer beautifully renders an entire cast of complex and tender characters who remind us just how precarious and precious life can be. You’ll love it.” —Katherine A. Sherbrooke, author of The Hidden Life of Aster Kelly

“Once I started Ginny Kubitz Moyer’s A Golden Life, I couldn’t put it down. A story about confronting the past and owning one’s story, this novel is filled with enchanting period details, memorable characters, and an ending you won’t see coming. Five gold stars for this truly entertaining read!” —Susie Orman Schnall, author of Anna Bright Is Hiding Something and We Came Here to Shine

“Step into the lavish world of 1930s Hollywood in Ginny Kubitz Moyer's A Golden Life. A vibrant, captivating, and entertaining read!” —Ashley E. Sweeney, author of Eliza Waite

From the Publisher

Step into the late 1930s epicenter of Hollywood’s Golden Age. . . . Moyer touches on larger life issues, including women’s limited choices and stereotypes and how society came to expect relationships to emulate the glittery romance Hollywood cinema created. Unputdownable!”

Francine Falk-Allen

A Golden Life is a wonderful portrait of an independent woman in 1930s California that explores the ways in which women’s lives were constrained by the mores of the time. The settings are beautifully drawn and developed—special and loving attention is paid to the beauty of the natural world. Ginny Kubitz Moyer writes with quiet authority and strong prose, creating a novel that is hard to put down and characters that remain long after the book is read.

Laura Spence-Ash

A Golden Life masterfully captures the Golden Age of Hollywood. The prose glimmers with tension and mystery, revealing the raw ambition and resilience that define a young, headstrong woman's journey through early adulthood. It’s a luminous tale that lingers, like the echo of applause after the final curtain falls.”

Joanne Howard

In this captivating novel, a young woman becomes the confidante to both the powerful and powerless of Old Hollywood—all while trying to outrun her own painful past. Ginny Kubitz Moyer beautifully renders an entire cast of complex and tender characters who remind us just how precarious and precious life can be. You’ll love it.

Katherine A. Sherbrooke

Once I started Ginny Kubitz Moyer’s A Golden Life, I couldn’t put it down. A story about confronting the past and owning one’s story, this novel is filled with enchanting period details, memorable characters, and an ending you won’t see coming. Five gold stars for this truly entertaining read!

Susie Orman Schnall

★ 2024-05-24
Moyer offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Golden Age of Hollywood in this historical novel.

It’s 1938, and Frances Healey has vowed to pursue an “interesting” career, so she doesn’t hesitate to accept a job at VistaGlen Studios in Hollywood. Frances possesses the qualities of a successful office worker: She’s discreet, witty, and extremely observant. But Frances finds it difficult to follow all the rules she learned in secretarial school when she becomes drawn to her new employer, movie producer and widower Lawrence Merrill. (“There was a line to his cheek and a downward curve to his mouth that was somehow appealing. It was disconcerting to discover this. She would much rather work for an ugly man.”) She transgresses by sharing details of her private life and involving him in her family drama. The pair grow even closer while on a business trip to Napa Valley, trying to save his latest film from the scrap heap. Frances is also challenged by the prickly women in Lawrence’s life: his precocious and sensitive 13-year-old daughter, Sally; his obnoxious and damaged starlet girlfriend, Belinda Vail; and the opinionated and surprisingly still-alive subject of his new biopic project, Kitty Ridley. The author captures 1930s California with meticulous detail and has masterfully created characters with depth and authenticity. She accomplishes this partly by using simple actions to portray complex personalities: Sally uses a fake English accent when she wants attention; Belinda wears lily-of-the-valley-scented perfume because it symbolizes purity; Kitty wears a turban to maintain a sense of elegance. Frances is clearly the protagonist, but few characters in this novel merely serve as foils; Moyer treats them all with respect and allows them arcs of their own. She also paces the story very well—while the stakes seem low (does it really matter whether or not this particular film is made?), the narrative thrums with suspense. The snappy dialogue both reveals character traits and furthers the plot.

A delightful human drama about accepting the past and forging a future in 1930s Tinseltown.

Kirkus Reviews