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
Jacqueline Susann by asking, "What do you think of Truman?" Susann quipped, "I think history will prove he's one of the best presidents we've had." On April 2, 1939, Susann married press agent Irving Mansfield, who had impressed her by successfully placing "items" about her in the theater and society pages of New York newspapers. Despite persistent rumors of infidelity on Susann's part, she and Mansfield were devoted to each other, and remained married until her death in 1974. On December 6, 1946, Susann gave birth to their only child, a son whom they named Guy Hildy Mansfield, "Hildy" being for cabaret