Jacqueline Susann, sometimes called the Joan Crawford of novelists, wrote only three works of fiction between 1966 and 1973, but her first novel, Valley of the Dolls, was one of the 10 most widely distributed books of all time. While her often maligned books eventually went out of print, Susann was still remembered as the first writer to become a media celebrity through her aggressive promotional appearances on television talk shows. A mid-1990s revival saw Dolls back in print again, some relatively serious re-evaluations of her campy, but charismatic work, and Susann's perhaps inevitable ascension into the pantheon of gay male pop culture icons.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921, Susann moved to New York in 1936, a beauty contest winner anxious to crash show business. In 1939 she married Irving Mansfield, and worked as both model and actress, appearing in Broadway and road company productions, including The Women...