Jacqueline Susann accurately be described as a highly effective sedative, a living doll." Despite the poor reviews, the book was a commercial juggernaut. On May 8, 1966, in its ninth week on the list, the book reached #1 on the "New York Times" Best Seller List, where it remained for 28 consecutive weeks. With a total of 65 weeks on the list, the book became the best selling novel of 1966. By the time of Susann's death in 1974, it had entered the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the best selling novel in publishing history, with more than 17 million copies
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls 2001, the "Village Voice" named the film #87 on its list of the 100 Greatest Films of the Century. Jacqueline Susann later sued Fox for $10 million for damaging her reputation by making the film, saying it was "sex exploitation film, employs total nudity and is scandalous of content." As a result, the studio placed a disclaimer at the beginning of the film informing the audience that the two films were not intended to be connected. Posters for the movie read, "This is not a sequel—there has never been anything like it". The suit did not go to trial until