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
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