Valley of the Dolls the Mount Everest of her dreams, only to find herself back in the valley of the dolls. Susann had apparently been thinking about the novel for some time. Some years earlier, she had begun "Underneath the Pancake", a show business novel, with her actress friend Beatrice Cole (c. 1910–1999). Later, she considered writing a novel about drug usage in show business to be called "The Pink Dolls". "Valley of the Dolls" is considered to be a "roman à clef", with its characters based on famous figures such as Judy Garland, Carole Landis, Dean Martin, and Ethel Merman. In 1973, after
Dolores (Susann novel) author's mother, Rose Susann (1892-1981). As always with Jacqueline Susann's novels, the critics were harsh. A reviewer for "The New York Times" wrote, "The novel is a fanzine version of clippings and rumors... The writing is sluggish and the plot limp." The reading public nonetheless embraced the book: the hardcover spent 25 weeks on the "New York Times" best seller list, peaking at #2 for seven consecutive weeks, and becoming the third highest-selling novel of 1976, behind just Leon Uris's "Trinity" and Agatha Christie's final book, "Sleeping Murder". The 1978 Bantam edition reached #1 on the "Times" paperback list. Dolores