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Gill Paul

Biography

Gill Paul

Gill Paul has written 13 historical novels, many of them re-evaluating extraordinary 20th-century women whom she thinks have been marginalized or misjudged by historians. Her books have reached the top of the US, Canadian and UK charts, and have been translated into 23 languages.

Gill was born and raised in Scotland, apart from an eventful year at school in the US when she was 10. She worked as an editor in nonfiction publishing, then as a ghostwriter, before giving up the “day job” to write fiction full-time. She is also an events organizer for the Historical Writers Association.

Gill loves wild swimming year-round, arranging parties, and traveling whenever and wherever she can.

Gill Paul

Books by Gill Paul

by Gill Paul - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

1966, NYC: Jacqueline Susann’s VALLEY OF THE DOLLS hits bookstores, and she is desperate for a bestseller. In London, Jackie Collins’ racy THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN launches her career. But neither author is prepared for the price they will pay for being women who dare to write about sex. 1965, NYC: College graduate Nancy White is excited to take up her dream job at a Manhattan publishing house, but she never could be prepared for the rampant sexism she will encounter. While working on VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, she becomes friends with Jacqueline Susann, and, after reaching out to Jackie Collins about a US deal, she is responsible for the two authors meeting. Will the two Jackies clash as they race to top the charts? Will Nancy achieve her ambition of becoming an editor, despite all the men determined to hold her back?

by Gill Paul - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein each founded empires built on grit and determination. Yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents, two world wars and the Great Depression. Brought up in poverty, Canadian-born Elizabeth Arden changed popular opinion, persuading women from all walks of life to buy skincare products that promised them youth and beauty. Helena Rubinstein left her native Poland, and launched her company with scientific claims about her miracle creams made with anti-aging herbs. And when it came to business, nothing was off-limits: poaching each other’s employees, copying each other’s products, planting spies, hiring ex-husbands, and one-upping each other every chance they had.

by Gill Paul - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

New York City, 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship. Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leach: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night. Their romances flourish and falter, while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

by Gill Paul - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Jackie Kennedy was contemplating leaving her ambitious young senator husband. Life in the public eye with an overly ambitious --- and unfaithful --- man was breaking her spirit. So when she's offered a holiday on the luxurious yacht owned by billionaire Ari Onassis, she says yes. Maria Callas is at the height of her operatic career and widely considered to be the finest soprano in the world. And then she's introduced to Aristotle Onassis, the world’s richest man. Stuck in a childless, sexless marriage, she finds her life being turned upside down by this hyper-intelligent and impeccably charming man. Little by little, Maria’s and Jackie’s lives begin to overlap, and they come closer and closer until everything they know about the world changes on a dime.