Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman - Hardcover

Hauser, Brooke

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062342665 ISBN 13: 9780062342669

Publisher: Harper, 2016

Synopsis

This cinematic story about legendary Cosmopolitan editor and champion of the single girl Helen Gurley Brown chronicles her rise as a cultural icon who redefined what it means to be an American woman.

In 1965, Helen Gurley Brown, author of the groundbreaking bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, took over an ailing Cosmopolitan and soon revamped it into one of the most bankable—and revolutionary—brands on the planet. At a time when women’s magazines taught housewives how to make the perfect casserole, Helen spoke directly to the single girl next door, cheekily advising her on how to pursue men, money, power, pleasure, and, most of all, personal happiness.

In this retro romp that will appeal to fans of Mad Men, journalist Brooke Hauser reveals how a self-proclaimed “mouseburger” from the Ozarks became one of the most influential women of her time. Though she was married (to the renowned movie producer David Brown), no one embodied the idea of the Cosmo Girl more than Helen, who willed, worked, and flirted her way to the top. Bringing New York City vibrantly to life during the sexual revolution and the women’s movement, and featuring a rich cast of characters, including Hugh Hefner and Gloria Steinem, Enter Helen is the riveting story of a polarizing pioneer who bucked convention to define her own destiny, baiting a generation that both revered and rejected her.

About this title

Review:

“Engaging.... Nimble-footed.... Amusing....Throughout, Hauser weaves in passages connecting Brown to her contemporaries and the cultural landscape of the 1960s...[to] situate her life in the context of its times.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Brown deserves the biography that Brooke Hauser has written, Enter Helen. It is entertaining, thoughtfully researched and — the ultimate encomium where HGB was concerned — fun.” (Washington Post)

“Legendary, inimitable Cosmopolitan editor and Sex and the Single Girl author Helen Gurley Brown comes alive in Hauser’s hands.” (Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”)

“Encapsulates the colorful life of a woman who rocked minis well into her eighties.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Excellent.” (The Week)

“A must-read piece of proto-feminist history.” (Lenny Letter)

“Hauser deftly pulls out fascinating details.... Some truly juicy moments.... Hauser dives into her youth and her early career in advertising far more than these years have been explored previously, setting the stage much more firmly for understanding how Brown accomplished all that she did.” (Jezebel)

“A compelling drama about a determined woman and Cosmopolitan editor, the original Sex and the City gal Helen Gurley Brown, which reveals how powerful (and threatening) a female in command of her pocketbook, sexuality, and career can really be.” (Lily Koppel, New York Times bestselling author of The Astronaut Wives Club and The Red Leather Diary)

“Hauser dives deep into the life of our former HBIC and uncovers what drove her to revolutionize the way we live and date today. HGB, we TY.” (Cosmopolitan)

“As Brooke Hauser’s lively biography...reveals, [Helen Gurley Brown] was as comfortable championing single ‘career girls’ as she was giving them tips on how to catch a man—and her own contradictory, have-it-all life proved to be as compelling as the era she helped define.” (OK Magazine)

About the Author:

Brooke Hauser has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Allure, and Parade, among other publications. She is the author of The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens, a winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award. She lives in western Massachusetts with her family and has taught nonfiction writing at Smith College.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0062342665
• ISBN 13: 9780062342669
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480