From Midnight Palace.com

http://www.midnightpalace.com/bookreview-olivethomas.htm

Writer Michelle Vogel is putting her knowledge of Classic
Hollywood on the printed page once again with Olive Thomas -
The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty. Thomas, hailed the
Òmost beautiful woman in the worldÓ by artist Harrison Fisher,
was a girl on her way to the top. Like many aspiring actresses,
she traveled to Hollywood with a dream. She first won a beauty
contest in New York which led her to a part in Florenz ZeigfeldÕs
ÒFolliesÓ, and the rest, should have been film history. Instead,
ThomasÕ story took a tragic detour with her untimely and
mysterious death at the young age of 25.

The Roaring 20s, as they were known, were full of parties and
letting loose. World War I was over and everything seemed to
return to normal. Maybe they had in Anytown, USA. In 1920s
Hollywood, life was anything but normal. VogelÕs prologue takes
us back in time to those golden and scandalous Tinseltown
nights. The lives and infamous deaths of such stars as Roscoe
"Fatty" Arbuckle, Wallace Reid and director William Desmond
Taylor seem too surreal to believe; but, these are the people to
whom we're immediately introduced. ItÕs the perfect setup to a
love story, a drama and a mystery, the very things that Olive
ThomasÕ life would become.

Vogel takes us from the prologue and throws us into a virtual
timeline. The book is full of beautiful photography and rare
candids, including one of Thomas posing with the 1916 New
York Yankees, and even a vintage skin cream advertisement
promoting the 1918 film "Heiress For A Day".

Olive, a pretty face with an unending thirst for knowledge, would
ask questions to the point of annoying those around her. To her,
it was the natural way of things. Incredibly, she managed to
finesse her way into directing a few scenes in one of her own
movies. The readers must remember, this was a woman in an
industry dominated by men. She eventually married into
Hollywood royalty by becoming Mrs. Jack Pickford. Jack was the
brother of Mary Pickford, America's Sweetheart. Though it
seemed like Mary and her mother did not approve of the
marriage, Olive kept her head up the way she always did. Jack
and Olive often showered each other with lavish gifts, which
included jewelry and the latest automobiles. Many times they'd
be working on opposite coasts, so these extreme measures
were most likely over-compensation for not seeing each other.
Life appeared to be grand, until a fateful trip to Paris in 1920.
Olive died from what was said to be suicide by poisoning.

We delve straight into the numerous speculations about Olive's
death. Vogel examines the unexplained and the unsettling
angles like a rogue detective. From her birth to her childhood,
from her rise to stardom to her death and finally to her funeral
(attended by some 15,000 people) and the investigation
thereafter, we're escorted along as if it were happening all over
again. In Chapter 10, we get a "special" addition to the haunting
story! I won't spoil it, but this was a great additive that, in
retrospect, was very fitting to a woman as persistant as Olive
Thomas. The book even gives a detailed list of Olive's stage and
film appearances. If Michelle Vogel's list of credits are any
indication, this is the perfect tribute to a woman that many have
long forgotten. Olive Thomas was already an icon in the making,
a rival to Mary Pickford that never got the chance to shine as
bright as she could have. This is a book for enthusiasts and
novices alike. It's written in a way that is very easy to understand,
despite its incredible amount of information and research.

Pre-orders are currently being taken for Olive Thomas - The Life
and Death of a Silent Film Beauty. If you would like to purchase a
copy (personally recommended!), you can click the following link
to place your order: