Dorothy Parker is a Dame! She smokes, drinks, has a mouth on her like a sailor and flirts like there’s no tomorrow. And she is Dead! She signed a mysterious book years ago and now lives in the Algonquin Hotel in New York. She can cross over and go to heaven or hell but decides living on earth is more fun. People can see her and chat with her. The hotel staff knows what she is.
In the follow up to her smash hit Farewll, Dorothy Parker her new book Dorothy Parker Drank Here (Berkley Trade Paperback Reprint; in stores December 1), Ellen Meister writes a prequel to that book. She was writing another book and had such fondness for Dorothy she scraped the other book and wrote this one.
The mysterious book has to remain open for Dorothy and anyone else that has signed the book to appear (and there’s some famous people that have signed). Dorothy greets them as they arrive and they all choose to go on. When Ted Shriver checks in she pays him a visit. He’s a famous author with a scandalous past. She tries to get him to sign the book and hang with her for eternity. He just wants to die by himself.
When Norah Wolfe arrives at the hotel and meets Dorothy and learns her deal, she is fascinated. Norah has come in the hopes of getting Ted to do a talk show she produces (which is about to be cancelled). As she tries to get Ted to do the show, he wants nothing to do with it. At this point we learn about his past and what happened many years ago (he was accused of plagiarism). As the book goes along it is moved and taken a few different times. Open and closed Dorothy is there and then gone.
Nora then learns a shocking secret that will rock her world and change Teds. Will she be able to handle it and will Ted change his mind about dying? And will Dorothy finally go to the light?
A really terrific read. Dorothy is just a great character, a throwback to someone like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Seeing as how Dorothy was a real person (a writer) I can imagine this is what she was really like.
I hope this won’t be the last book that Ellen writes about Dorothy and I could see this as a movie or even TV series (with the right actress playing her). You can pick up the book in stores on Tuesday, December 1
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Sounds delightful. Will look for it.