5:45 to Suburbia

There were two Charlie Gibsons

One rode the 5:45 to Westport and was met at the station by his charming wife who dressed in impeccable tweeds and mixed a wicked martini. He also had a long-legged, lovely daughter whom he admired. He was second in command of a vast publishing house and, what’s more, he got there without being a hatchet man. Everybody had respect for him; almost everybody liked him.
That was one side of Charlie Gibson.
The unhappy side.

One spent every spare minute in the apartment of Marge Mann. She was beautiful and flamboyant and she loved Charlie with passion. It was she who gave him the ideas that took him to the top of the publishing world - although Charlie never realized it. Every minute he spent with her was like being under the influence of a strong drug. He was addicted to Marge and didn’t want to break the habit.
That was the other side of Charlie Gibson.
The happy side.

Vin Packer is the pen name for Marijane Meaker (born May 27, 1927), an American novelist and short story writer in several genres. From 1952 to 1969, she wrote twenty mystery and crime novels as Vin Packer, including Spring Fire, which is credited with launching the genre of lesbian pulp. Using her own observations of lesbians in the 1950s and 1960s, she wrote a series of nonfiction books as Ann Aldrich from 1955 to 1972. In 1972, she switched genres and pen names once more to begin writing for young adults, and became quite successful as M.E. Kerr, producing over twenty novels and winning multiple awards, including the American Library Association’s lifetime award for young-adult literature (Edwards Award). She was described by The New York Times Book Review as “one of the grand masters of young adult fiction.” As Mary James, she has written four books for younger children.