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
Jacqueline Susann of the "Ladies' Home Journal" (which became the best-selling issue in the magazine's history). Susann's manuscript, too long for the "Journal", was cut, but the excised material was restored for the book publication on July 8, 1976. Despite harsh reviews and the absence of Susann as a promotional tool, the book spent 25 weeks on the "New York Times" Best Seller List (seven consecutive weeks at #2), and became the third highest-selling novel of 1976. "Yargo", Susann's romantic science fiction novel written during the 1950s, was published in February 1979 as a paperback original by Bantam Books. The novel is