A Touch of Stardust: A Novel (edition 2015)

by Kate Alcott

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
311	35	83,986	(3.68)	30
Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker comes a blockbuster novel that takes you behind the scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind, while turning the spotlight on the passionate romance between its dashing leading man, Clark Gable, and the blithe, free-spirited actress Carole Lombard. When Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood, she never imagines she�??ll cross paths with Carole Lombard, the dazzling actress fromJulie�??s provincial Midwestern hometown. The young woman has dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but the only job Julie�??s able to find is one in the studio publicity office of the notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick, who is busy burning through directors, writers, and money as he films Gone with the Wind. Although tensions run high on the set, Julie finds she can step onto the back lot, take in the smell of smoky gunpowder and the soft rustle of hoop skirts, and feel the magical world of Gone with the Wind come to life. Julie�??s access to real-life magic comes when Carole Lombard hires her as an assistant and invites her into the glamorous world Carole shares with Clark Gable, who is about to move into movie history as the dashing Rhett Butler. Carole Lombard, happily profane and uninhibited, makes no secret of her relationship with Gable, which poses something of a problem for the studio because Gable is technically still married�??and the last thing the film needs is more negative publicity. Julie is there to fend off the overly curious reporters, hoping to prevent details about the affair from slipping out. But she can barely keep up with her blond employer, let alone control what comes out of Carole�??s mouth, and�??as their friendship grows�??Julie soon finds she doesn�??t want to. Carole, both wise and funny, becomes Julie�??s model for breaking free of the past. In the ever-widening scope of this story, Julie is given a front-row seat to not one but two of the greatest love affairs of all time: the undeniable on-screen chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett, and offscreen, the deepening love between Carole and Clark. Yet beneath the shiny façade, things in Hollywood are never quite what they seem, and Julie must learn to balance her career aspirations and her own budding romance with the outsized personalities and overheated drama on set. Vivid, romantic, and filled with Old Hollywood details, A Touch of Stardust will… (more)

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Member:	susiesharp
Title:	A Touch of Stardust: A Novel
Authors:	Kate Alcott
Info:	Doubleday (2015), Hardcover, 304 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	Cassandra Campbell, audio, 2015, April 2015, edelweiss

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A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott

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Showing 1-5 of 35 (next | show all)

Thank you to my Goodread friends for rating this book. Many of started your review with, "if you're a fan of Gone with the Wind...." Well, that cinched it for me since that is one of my all-time favorite books AND movies.
I appreciated the 4 main story lines in this book: the romance of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard; the trials and tribulations of making the movie; female writers in male-dominated Hollywood; and, of course the story of Julie Crawford and Andy. My favorites are the first 3. In the last one, the dialogue is too scripted and perfect for a budding romance, whereas the dialog for Carole and Clark is spot-on.
The comparison between reality and Midwest values with movie making almost teetered on the edge of being a brick-in-the-face. The musings of Julie as she learned the Hollywood ways did tether the comparisons enough to keep it worth reading.
There are many stereotypical pompous males in this story - some were acceptable, but some seemed just that - stereotypical. Maybe there were that many pompous asses in Hollywood at the time, I don't know. And then there is Julie's father...very old-school. He was one character I definitely did not like - but I think that was the point.
I liked the book and gave it 4 stars due to its great descriptions, and its premise. I am, afterall, a great fan of GWTW. (

)

Kimberlyhi | Apr 15, 2023 |

Enjoyable read. (

)

Wren73 | Mar 4, 2022 |

The reader for this audio book had that girly movie actress voice which put me off a bit, but fit the story well. Set in Hollywood in 1939, it is historical fiction about the making of Gone with the Wind. I've always been captivated by that movie -- not sure why, so this book was enlightening and enjoyable. It centers on Julie Crawford, a fictional character, newly arrived in Hollywood and determined to be a screen writer after her heroine Frances Marion speaks at her Smith college graduation. Julie leaves Ft. Wayne, IN and convention behind to head to LA. She fortuitously lands a job as a mimeographer (how's that for an anachronism?) at Selznick Enterprises and is on set for the "burning of Atlanta" scene when she meets Andy Weinstein, another fictional character who is Selznick's right-hand-man. She also meets Carol Lombard (another Ft. Wayne transplant -- who knew?) and becomes her personal assistant before she begins her climb up the screenwriting ladder. Julie and Andy become involved, though go through various growing pains due to the nature of the business, jealousy, and Andy's Jewish heritage. He meanwhile, is consumed with the movie's demands, especially Selznick's capricious micro-managing and trying to keep Clark Gable from quitting -- which is also Carol's role. Andy is also concerned about the growing threat of War and the treatment of the Jews (including his grandparents) in Europe. It is fun to get some of the history of the monumental movie and a bit of an inside look at the allure and glory days of Tinseltown. The fictional parts of the story are a bit predictable and pat, but overall it's a nice escape. (

)

CarrieWuj | Oct 24, 2020 |

I think Kate Alcott has a heroine type. Strong, but needing to discover that at the beginning of the story, doesn’t believe she is pretty, but is in fact very eye catching, clever, wide-eyed and then learns the ropes, triumphs over challenges, and at the end of our journey with her, knows what she wants for the future and takes clear-eyed steps in that direction.

I like these heroines. I like that they are all in the same vain, and that I know what I’m getting from Alcott. They are typically the everywoman that readers can see the world/timeframe through.

This is all to say that I liked this novel, and really liked a lot of the characters, but the one character I would have really loved to spend a book with, I didn’t get. I was heartbroken to read author note at the end with the conclusions of the actors of Gone With The Wind, but absolutely devastated about Carole Lombard’s death. Yes, in the real world this was more than 50 years ago. But in my reader’s world, I just left her alive and hopeful. I wish the entire book could have been from her view, and I think she was by far the best drawn character, and will search out lots of biographies moving forward. The other characters, including the heroine, are likable and sympathetic but not as clearly defined as the characters in past novels. A fun read, but I would recommend her other novels first. (

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Karen.Helfrick | Sep 12, 2018 |

This was such a fun read! I really felt like I was back in 1939 on the set of Gone with the Wind. Definitely recommend to anyone who is a fan of classic Hollywood! (

)

Crystal423 | May 1, 2018 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Alcott, Kate	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Peña, Isabel Urbina	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist – Women's Fiction – 2016)

Notable Lists

Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction – 2015)

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Canonical title

A Touch of Stardust

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Important events

Related movies

Gone With The Wind

Epigraph

Dedication

For my father: Daddy, you always loved a good story. This one's for you.

First words

Atlanta was exploding right on schedule.

Quotations

Faith and religion, they're timeless, right? So is a baseball game. It's the only major sport with no time limit. No clock running out. I love that. I love the timelessness of it.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Williams, Beatriz

McCoy, Sarah

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker comes a blockbuster novel that takes you behind the scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind, while turning the spotlight on the passionate romance between its dashing leading man, Clark Gable, and the blithe, free-spirited actress Carole Lombard.

When Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood, she never imagines she�??ll cross paths with Carole Lombard, the dazzling actress fromJulie�??s provincial Midwestern hometown. The young woman has dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but the only job Julie�??s able to find is one in the studio publicity office of the notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick, who is busy burning through directors, writers, and money as he films Gone with the Wind.
Although tensions run high on the set, Julie finds she can step onto the back lot, take in the smell of smoky gunpowder and the soft rustle of hoop skirts, and feel the magical world of Gone with the Wind come to life. Julie�??s access to real-life magic comes when Carole Lombard hires her as an assistant and invites her into the glamorous world Carole shares with Clark Gable, who is about to move into movie history as the dashing Rhett Butler.
Carole Lombard, happily profane and uninhibited, makes no secret of her relationship with Gable, which poses something of a problem for the studio because Gable is technically still married�??and the last thing the film needs is more negative publicity. Julie is there to fend off the overly curious reporters, hoping to prevent details about the affair from slipping out. But she can barely keep up with her blond employer, let alone control what comes out of Carole�??s mouth, and�??as their friendship grows�??Julie soon finds she doesn�??t want to. Carole, both wise and funny, becomes Julie�??s model for breaking free of the past.
In the ever-widening scope of this story, Julie is given a front-row seat to not one but two of the greatest love affairs of all time: the undeniable on-screen chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett, and offscreen, the deepening love between Carole and Clark. Yet beneath the shiny façade, things in Hollywood are never quite what they seem, and Julie must learn to balance her career aspirations and her own budding romance with the outsized personalities and overheated drama on set. Vivid, romantic, and filled with Old Hollywood details, A Touch of Stardust will

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Book description

A blockbuster novel that takes you behind-the-scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind, while turning the spotlight on the passionate romance between its dashing leading man, Clark Gable, and the blithe, free-spirited actress, Carole Lombard.

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