The Limits of Limelight

Margaret Porter

Sep 2021 · Gallica Press · Narrated by Mamie Parris

About this audiobook

From the author of the award-winning Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, an engrossing, fact-based story of a young woman's quest to achieve her rightful destiny.

Pretty Oklahoma teenager Helen Nichols accepts an invitation from her cousin, rising movie actress Ginger Rogers, and her Aunt Lela, to try her luck in motion pictures. Her relatives, convinced that her looks and personality will ensure success, provide her with a new name and help her land a contract with RKO. As Phyllis Fraser, she swiftly discovers that Depression-era Hollywood’s surface glamour and glitter obscure the ceaseless struggle of the hopeful starlet.

Lela Rogers, intensely devoted to her daughter and her niece, outwardly accepting of her stage mother label, is nonetheless determined to establish her reputation as screenwriter, stage director, and studio talent scout. For Phyllis, she’s an inspiring model of grit and persistence in an industry run by men.

While Ginger soars to the heights of stardom in musicals with Fred Astaire, Phyllis is tempted by a career more fulfilling than the one she was thrust into. Should she continue working in films, or devote herself to the profession she’s dreamed about since childhood? Which choice might lead her to the lasting love that seems so elusive?

About the author

MARGARET PORTER is the award-winning, bestselling author of fifteen highly acclaimed historical novels in various subgenres and two contemporaries. Her historical works include The Myrtle Wand, The Limits of Limelight, Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, and twelve others. After studying British history in the U.K., she worked professionally in theatre, film, and television, and regularly conducts research in Great Britain and Europe. She lives in New England with husband and dog, dividing time between a book-filled house in a small city and a waterfront cottage on one of the region's largest lakes. More information is available at www.margaretporter.com. Mamie Parris has developed a diverse and unique body of work throughout her extensive career. Best known on Broadway for her one-of-a-kind rendition of the iconic "Memory" she is no stranger to the work of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, having starred as Grizabella in the Broadway revival of Cats, as Rosalie (closing cast) and Patty (opening cast) in Broadway's School of Rock, and- most recently- in the US Premier of the Lloyd Webber retrospective Unmasked. Other Broadway appearances include the Tony-nominated revivals of Ragtime, 110 In The Shade, and On The 20th Century, as well as the Tony winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone. Her film and television creadits include The Blacklist, State of Affairs, A Standup Guy and PBS Great Performances "50 Years of Broadway's Best".