Jacqueline Susann a radical departure from the works which made her famous. During the 1970s, Susann had spoken of future works. They included a novel about brothers who have their show business start in vaudeville, to be called "The Comedy Twins"; a novel about a poetess, "The Heroine"; a continuation of the story of Neely O'Hara's sons; and her autobiography. Jacqueline Susann enjoyed the fame which her books brought. "Confrontational, sassy, [and] entertaining," she appeared frequently on television, especially on talk shows. When asked what Ethel Merman thought of "Valley of the Dolls", Susann responded, "We didn't speak before the book came
Jacqueline Susann by Bernard Geis on February 10, 1966, and "took off like a Cape Canaveral space shot." The story was said to be a "roman à clef", with characters in the novel reportedly based on real-life celebrities such as Judy Garland, Dean Martin, and Ethel Merman. Although "Publishers Weekly", in an advance review, called the novel "powerful and sometimes fascinating," the book received largely negative reviews. Gloria Steinem panned the book in "The New York Herald Tribune" as did the reviewer in "The New York Times". "Time" magazine called it the "Dirty Book of the Month," and said, "it might more