Author: John Searles
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Release Date: July 7, 2026
Pages: 376
Source: This book was given to me by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: An infectious and utterly charming fictionalization of the iconic Helen Gurley Brown’s early years at the helm of Cosmopolitan, and the intrepid group of women she took under her wing to create one of the most talked about magazines of all time.
In 1965, Helen Gurley Brown, a soft spoken, self-professed “mouseburger,” is fresh off the runaway success of her book Sex and the Single Girl, a revolutionary call to single women urging them not to rush into marriage on anyone’s timeline but their own, and, even more radically, to enjoy their sex lives, gloriously free of shame. Upon the book’s publication, half the country is outraged (her mother, for one, hates it), and the other half will follow her anywhere. Moved by the thousands of letters arriving at her doorstep from readers desperate for advice, she marches from one Manhattan magazine conglomerate to another, looking for a perch from which to dispense her unconventional wisdom. At her last stop, she finally gets her shot: just three issues to turn around the flailing magazine Cosmopolitan.
Helen quickly assembles a team of smart, savvy single girls up to the task. Soon, their lives become the stuff of magazine cover lines: the gorgeous Book Editor’s doomed romance with a man she didn’t know was married—and her bold idea for revenge. The (unofficial!) Sex Editor’s trip to soak in the world’s first champagne glass hot tub, which takes a very wrong turn. The Entertainment Editor’s clash with Joan Crawford and interview with a Park Avenue call girl that leads to unexpected revelations.
Single Girls begins at the dawn of Helen’s storied tenure and journeys back to her youth, envisioning the devastations and people who forged her into a controversial legend. It imagines the way one unsinkable group of women navigated gender roles and workplace power dynamics long before these issues entered the headlines. With dazzling, high-energy prose, it recreates not just a movement, but a mood: one of ambition, reinvention, and the intoxicating thrill of being young when a new world was possible for a single girl if only she was fearless enough to reach out and grab it.
My Review: Helen Gurley Brown was an editor-in-chief of the Cosmopolitan magazine for over three decades. She was also the author of the bestselling nonfiction book, Sex and the Single Girl. This biographical novel tells how Helen revitalized a failing magazine company. With her savvy business skills, the Cosmopolitan became a popular and bestselling magazine. It also tells how Helen Gurley Brown became a controversial figure.
I have heard of Helen Gurley Brown from the 1964 movie, Sex and the Single Girl, in which she was portrayed by Natalie Wood. Therefore, I was ecstatic to read a biographical novel based upon her life. From a young age, Helen was traumatized by her father’s death. Her sister, Mary Eloine Gurley, has a disability. Helen has spent her youth with failing romances. In her late thirties when she married her husband, David Brown. It was through her husband’s support and encouragement that Helen was able to write a nonfiction book. When Helen is tasked with saving a failing magazine, she finds a group of intelligent women who help make it popular. Therefore, I found Helen to be an engaging heroine, and I was eager to read about her achievements.
Overall, this book is about love, ambition, and friendship. The message of this book is to follow your dreams. I like that this book portrayed how single women navigated dating life during the 1960s. I like all of the characters and thought that they were relatable. I did not care for the structure because it kept jumping around multiple time periods. I would have liked the book to be more chronological. Nevertheless, I found it to be a witty and humorous read! Single Girls was very engaging and entertaining! This novel is perfect for fans of Sex and the Single Girls! I recommend this novel for fans of Daisy Jones & The Six, More Than You Know, and Clotheshorse!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Comments
Post a Comment