Jacqueline Susann Jacqueline Susann Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American writer and actress. Her first novel, "Valley of the Dolls" (1966), is one of the best-selling books in publishing history. With her two subsequent works, "The Love Machine" (1969) and "Once Is Not Enough" (1973), Susann became the first author to have three consecutive #1 novels on "The New York Times" Best Seller List. Jacqueline Susann was born on August 20, 1918, in Philadelphia, a single daughter to a Jewish couple: Robert Susan (1887–1957), a portrait painter, and Rose Jans (1892–1981), a public schoolteacher. As a
The Valley of Decision (novel) The Valley of Decision (novel) The Valley of Decision is an historical novel by the American writer Marcia Davenport (1903–1996). It was a national bestseller in the 1940s and adapted into a film, "The Valley of Decision", in 1945. During the late 1930s Davenport, best known for her biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, spent several years in Pittsburgh, her imagination caught by the drama of American industry. In 1942, Charles Scribner's Sons published her Pittsburgh novel, "The Valley of Decision". It was an instant success, and its story of four generations of the Scott family—owners and operators of a Pittsburgh