Valley of the Dolls

Valley of the Dolls is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. It is widely considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, mood altering drugs. Valley of the Dolls was an instant success when it was first published. Since then it has sold more than 30 million copies. As the first roman à clef by a female author to achieve this leve... more

Valley of the Dolls is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. It is widely considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, mood altering drugs. Valley of the Dolls was an instant success when it was first published. Since then it has sold more than 30 million copies. As the first roman à clef by a female author to achieve this level of sales in America, it led the way for other authors such as Jackie Collins to depict the private lives of the real-life rich and famous under a veneer of fiction. In 1967 it was adapted into a dramatic film of the same name which was directed by Mark Robson, and stars Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Patty Duke, and Paul Burke. The novel was adapted again for television in 1981 and in 1994 a late-night, syndicated television soap opera ran for one season using the name and a loose adaptation of the premise. The novel begins immediately after... less