Have you ever wanted to climb into a time machine and visit Hollywood during its heyday?
Hollywood history is more than just colorful. It's dripping with red.
As World War II ends, a new boogieman emerges: the Red Menace. When a scandal accuses Tinseltown of being riddled with Communists, MGM writing department head Marcus Adler needs to keep his reputation beyond reproach. Unfortunately in Hollywood, nobody's past is spotless.
While the House un-American Activities Committee prepares to grill the brightest stars in town, gossip columnist Kathryn Massey is doing everything she can to shed the FBI informer mantle she carried during the war. Desperate to avoid tangling with a notorious mobster, Massey may have to take on J. Edgar Hoover himself to secure her freedom.
The war killed Gwendolyn Brick's dream of opening her own store, but valuable secrets can creep into the strangest of places. From behind the perfume counter at Bullocks Wilshire, Brick makes a shocking discovery that could revive her dream and change multiple lives for good.
In postwar Hollywood, there are reds in the beds, the sharks are circling, and it's feeding time.
Reds in the Beds is the fifth installment in the Hollywood's Garden of Allah saga, a series of historical novels set in Hollywood's heyday. If you like authentic and richly-detailed history, compelling and memorable characters, and seeing fiction and history seamlessly woven together, then you'll love Martin Turnbull's authentic portrayal of the City of Angels.
Hollywood's Garden of Allah novels:
Book 1 - "The Garden on Sunset" Book 2 - "The Trouble with Scarlett" Book 3 - "Citizen Hollywood" Book 4 - "Searchlights and Shadows" Book 5 - "Reds in the Beds" Book 6 - "Twisted Boulevard"
Martin Turnbull's Garden of Allah novels have been optioned for the screen by film & television producer, Tabrez Noorani.
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Your Garden of Allah novels are rich in the history and lore of classic era Hollywood. What was your original inspiration?
I came across an online article about the Garden of Allah Hotel, which opened on Sunset Boulevard in 1927 just before "The Jazz Singer" ushered in the talkies, and closed in 1959, the year that "Ben Hur" announced the last hurrah of the studio system. The Garden's residents witnessed the unfolding evolution of Hollywood and actively participated in it.
How has writing these novels changed your view of this golden age that we perceive as the greatest era of film production?
L.A. was a much less densely populated city. Consequently, all movie industry workers were far more likely to know each other. People moved from MGM to Paramount to Twentieth Century-Fox to RKO to Warner Bros. Two or three degrees of separation were usually enough!
Why did you not go the safe route and change the names of the major players to suit your story?
The whole point of recounting the history of Hollywood through the eyes of the Garden's residents was because so many celebrities lived there. Harpo Marx and Sergei Rachmaninoff were neighbors, F. Scott Fitzgerald played charades with Dorothy Parker, Errol Flynn got drunk, Ginger Rogers was always looking for a tennis partner, and Bogart courted Bacall. I figured: Why tell it if I'm going to change the names?
Do you think stories set in old Hollywood are becoming more popular because of Turner Classic Movies?
Yes! TCM has produced a whole new audience for them. Consequently there is a greater interest in the time and place from which these movies sprung.
Hollywood history is more than just colorful. It's dripping with red.
As World War II ends, a new boogieman emerges: the Red Menace. When a scandal accuses Tinseltown of being riddled with Communists, MGM writing department head Marcus Adler needs to keep his reputation beyond reproach. Unfortunately in Hollywood, nobody's past is spotless.
While the House un-American Activities Committee prepares to grill the brightest stars in town, gossip columnist Kathryn Massey is doing everything she can to shed the FBI informer mantle she carried during the war. Desperate to avoid tangling with a notorious mobster, Massey may have to take on J. Edgar Hoover himself to secure her freedom.
The war killed Gwendolyn Brick's dream of opening her own store, but valuable secrets can creep into the strangest of places. From behind the perfume counter at Bullocks Wilshire, Brick makes a shocking discovery that could revive her dream and change multiple lives for good.
In postwar Hollywood, there are reds in the beds, the sharks are circling, and it's feeding time.
Reds in the Beds is the fifth installment in the Hollywood's Garden of Allah saga, a series of historical novels set in Hollywood's heyday. If you like authentic and richly-detailed history, compelling and memorable characters, and seeing fiction and history seamlessly woven together, then you'll love Martin Turnbull's authentic portrayal of the City of Angels.
Hollywood's Garden of Allah novels:
Martin Turnbull's Garden of Allah novels have been optioned for the screen by film & television producer, Tabrez Noorani.
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Your Garden of Allah novels are rich in the history and lore of classic era Hollywood. What was your original inspiration?
I came across an online article about the Garden of Allah Hotel, which opened on Sunset Boulevard in 1927 just before "The Jazz Singer" ushered in the talkies, and closed in 1959, the year that "Ben Hur" announced the last hurrah of the studio system. The Garden's residents witnessed the unfolding evolution of Hollywood and actively participated in it.
How has writing these novels changed your view of this golden age that we perceive as the greatest era of film production?
L.A. was a much less densely populated city. Consequently, all movie industry workers were far more likely to know each other. People moved from MGM to Paramount to Twentieth Century-Fox to RKO to Warner Bros. Two or three degrees of separation were usually enough!
Why did you not go the safe route and change the names of the major players to suit your story?
The whole point of recounting the history of Hollywood through the eyes of the Garden's residents was because so many celebrities lived there. Harpo Marx and Sergei Rachmaninoff were neighbors, F. Scott Fitzgerald played charades with Dorothy Parker, Errol Flynn got drunk, Ginger Rogers was always looking for a tennis partner, and Bogart courted Bacall. I figured: Why tell it if I'm going to change the names?
Do you think stories set in old Hollywood are becoming more popular because of Turner Classic Movies?
Yes! TCM has produced a whole new audience for them. Consequently there is a greater interest in the time and place from which these movies sprung.
