Jacqueline Susann of her own books. "Valley of the Dolls" spans twenty years (1945–1965) in the lives of three young women: Anne Welles, the New England beauty who liberates herself from her staid small town by coming to New York, where she falls in love with the dashing Lyon Burke; Neely O'Hara, an ebullient vaudevillian who becomes a Hollywood star and self-destructs; and Jennifer North, a showgirl with little talent but a gorgeous face and figure, who becomes a friend to both. All three women fall prey to the "dolls," amphetamines and barbiturates, a euphemism which Susann coined. The book was published
Valley of the Dolls (film) novel's author, Jacqueline Susann). Anne abandons drugs (By throwing them across the room) and her unfaithful lover and takes a train returning to New England, where her aunt Amy (Judith Lowry in an uncredited role) lives, and she finds she is truly happier. She moves back in with her aunt and with the money she accrued over the years, helps her with the house and finances. Lyon ends his affair with Neely (when he quits as her manager) and travels to New England to ask Anne to marry him. She decides to move on with her life (remaining in New