A Roman Tale

Baker, Carroll

ISBN 10: 0917657535 / ISBN 13: 9780917657535

Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc, New York, 1986

About this Item

New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc, 1986. A bright, shiny, clean, square, tight copy. Dust jacket is NOT price clipped (17.95). No owner's name or bookplate. No remainder mark. Pages are clean, crisp and unmarked. From the Dust Jacket: "Carroll Baker, the well-known actress and author of the bestselling autobiography, BABY DOLL, as well as the. memoir, TO AFRICA WITH LOVE, debuts as a novelist of wit and storytelling verve in this deliciously, wickedly ironic and erotic tale set in, around and beyond Rome's modern-day la dolce vita. Cross an international HOLLYWOOD WIVES with the fun and perceptive observor's (sic) eye of a contemporary Boccaccio as in BOCCACCIO'S TALES, and one begins to suggest the saga of Madeline Mandell, an American actress, known as the 'Venus,' and hating it, who after too many years a slave in the Hollywood Dream Factory, as well as the victim of a despotic director-husband, decided it's time for arrivederci hubby and Hollywood, buon giorno Roma. Thrust into the klieglight of the Italian film world, as well as its remarkably freewheeling lifestyle, she competes with three other famed international actresses for the central role in 'Boccaccio Volgare,' the major film of the moment, as well as the affections of one Umberta Cassini, a leading man whose amusing secret is that he is even better in person than on the screen." First printing with complete number row (10 987654321) on the copyright page. . First Printing of the First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine condition/Near Fine dust jacket. Illus. by Bacon, Paul (jacket design). 8vo. 316pp.

Seller Inventory # 005147

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Roman Tale
• Publisher: Donald I. Fine, Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0917657535
• ISBN 13: 9780917657535
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Bacon, Paul (jacket design)
• Edition: First Printing of the First Edition.
• Condition: Near Fine condition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine dust jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • Modern First Editions

About this title

Synopsis

After twelve years as a slave to her movie studio, a despotic husband, and a sex-symbol image, Madeline, a beautiful American actress, moves to Italy for a fresh start in life

Reviews

When a Hollywood star's career is on the skids, she can go to pieces or to Italy. Which explains why 34-year-old Madeline Mandell, once billed as "the American Venus," is consuming pasta on a terrace in Rome with "Scandinavian screen goddess" Astrid, "Germany's sex symbol" Helga and "reigning Italian movie queen" Cleo. Each of them is eager for a role in Boccaccio Volgare, a four-part film epic starring superstar and lovable klutz Umberto Cassini, but their ambitions are threatened by the wicked machinations of a British actress who wants all four female roles for herself. While these matters are being resolved, some predictable diversions are offered: tours of Rome (food and wine included) alternate with myriad sexual encounters of a sort that might make Boccaccio blush. Madeline eschews most of the latter and saves herself for a final fadeout in the arms of Umberto, who is about to become both her husband and co-star. Though film actress Baker's first novel has as much staying power as the lira, it is lively and affable. Baker seems to be prolific: her memoir, To Africa with Love (Nonfiction Forecasts, Feb. 28), is out this month. 40,000 first printing; $40,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This tale of film stars and the jet set of Rome focuses on one American actress, Madeline Mandell, a.k.a. "Venus," who dumps slavish Hollywood for Rome, and becomes involved in the lives and loves of three other international film stars as well as the go-for-the-throat competition for the affections of a cinematic Romeo. It is the first novel of film actress Baker, author of the autobiography Baby Doll. The plot is tired, the characters are shallow, and the dialogue and descriptions are embarrassingly awful: "Her glossed lips protruded, succulent pink sausages, and her breasts appeared, literally, overblown." One yearns for the likes of Forever Amber. Not a necessary purchase for any library. Virginia A. Doser, Saddleback Coll., Mission Viejo, Cal.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.