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Book Review of The Only Woman in the Room

The Only Woman in the Room
joann avatar reviewed on + 412 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


Hedy Keisler was a young aspiring actress in Vienna in 1933. She was gorgeous and her acting was well received. She had done a movie before acting on the stage, but it had not received a lot of notice.
In the audience one night, a gentleman showered her with flowers. He also introduced himself to her mother and father and proceeded to court Miss Keisler. The gentleman in question was Fritz Mandl, the richest man in Austria at the time.
They ended up marrying and Mr. Mandl was the owner of the largest munitions company supplying weapons to anyone who needed them. Hitler was advancing, but Austria was trying to stay independent.
Hedy becomes the glitter part of the marriage, the pretty face that Fritz loves to show off. Then things get blatantly abject and Hedy has to make a move to get away.
Hedy Lamarr was gorgeous and a star, but there really was so much more to this woman than that.

This book was written with a lot of research into a past that we didn't know too much about. Kudos for championing this woman and all of her intelligence, which she was never given the credit for.