The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin (2018)

Fascinating look at the early years of movie making through the (fictional) eyes of two of the first women that were involved. Mary Pickford, who even I have heard of, and Frances Marion, a screenwriter of the times that won two academy awards. They were very close friends for quite a while, as Francis wrote parts for Mary where she could be a little girl that movie goers loved. Mary married Douglas Fairbanks, a swashbuckling hero, though neither did very well when silent movies went to talkies, but they were a beloved Hollywood couple around the globe. Melanie Benjamin takes all the facts she can find about historical characters and then weaves a tale of how these people might have felt and what they might have thought and said. I understand it is fiction, but it works for me.

I found it fascinating to hear about how the early movies were made, how the film companies evolved. Mary, Frances and Charlie Chaplain founded United Artists and were founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts. Though I am not a movie buff, I would really like to see how movies are made one day. If my son continues to live out in California, I just might get around to it.