The Chelsea Girls

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis      368 pages

Since I first discovered books by Fiona Davis during the summer of 2018, I have become one of her biggest fans. Not only are her storylines and characters compelling, I love the way she uses New York City’s historical landmarks/architecture as characters. It adds a layer of complexity that I adore.

Davis hits another one out of the ballpark with her fourth novel, “The Chelsea Girls.” Hazel and Maxine meet in 1945 while they are schlepping through Europe as part of a touring USO band of actresses, performing skits and plays for weary soldiers.

After the war, the girls go their separate ways: Hazel to New York and Maxine to Los Angeles. Hazel gets room at The Chelsea Hotel, a haven for budding actresses, musicians, poets, and other artists. She feels at home among the quirky residents. Hazel makes the rounds, desperate to land a role. She gets a few small gigs, but it’s the typewriter and the play she started during the war that are her siren. Five years after the war ended, “Wartime Sonata,” Hazel has finished her manuscript and is ready to take it to Broadway.

Meanwhile over in Los Angeles, Maxine has become a true movie star. Readers don’t see Maxine in California, but we get to hear about her life when she comes to New York, looking for her old friend. She is running from an abusive relationship and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare. Although the two have drifted apart, they quickly pick up where they left off.

Against the mount of Hazel’s play and Maxine’s troubled relationship, there is The Chelsea Hotel.  Fascinating characters inhabit this grand building, where anyone can follow their heart.

When McCarthy is finished with Hollywood, he turns his eye toward Broadway. He is determined to rid the U. C. of any communist activity. Called before his committee, will Hazel cave and name names?  Will Maxine give in to the pressure? 

What a ride!  I think this is Davis’s work yet, and I’m eagerly awaiting her next novel. I hope she writes fast!  I give “The Chelsea Girls” 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.