Have you ever wanted to climb into a time machine and visit Hollywood during its heyday?
Right before talking pictures slug Tinsel Town in the jaw, a luminous silent screen star converts her private estate into the Garden of Allah Hotel. The lush grounds soon become a haven for Hollywood hopefuls to meet, drink, and revel through the night. George Cukor is in the pool, Tallulah Bankhead is at … the pool, Tallulah Bankhead is at the bar, and Scott Fitzgerald is sneaking off to a bungalow with Sheilah Graham while Madame Alla Nazimova keeps watch behind her lace curtains.
But the real story of the Garden of Allah begins with its first few residents, three kids on the brink of something big.
Marcus Adler has a lot to prove after his father catches him and the police chief’s son with their pants down. He flees Pennsylvania for Hollywood with his mouth shut and his eyes open, and begins to write the lines all those starlets will say out loud. Can a smart, sensitive guy find his own voice in a town that’s just learning to talk?
Kathryn Massey’s childhood was a grinding routine of auditions, but she couldn’t care less about being a movie star. When she takes off with her typewriter, determined to become a newspaper reporter, she finds that breaking into the boys’ club is tougher than breaking free of her bossy mother. To make it in this town, she’ll need some serious moxie.
Gwendolyn Brick is a sweet Southern beauty who’s come a long way to try her luck on the big screen. She’s hoping the same succulent lips the guys want to kiss will land her more than a bit part on a casting couch. She’s going to need some help keeping everyone in line.
Nobody gets a free pass in Hollywood, but a room at the Garden on Sunset can get your foot in the door.
The Garden on Sunset is the first in Martin Turnbull’s series of historical novels set during Hollywood’s golden age.
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The Garden of Allah Series is great soap opera. A glimpse into the the lives of the 3 main characters and all the stars that intersect into their lives. The book had me rooting for them as they purseued their career goals and feeling the disappointments in their lives when things go sideways. The author took historical events and interwove them …
This novel is set in Hollywood just before the “talkies” take over the town. Alla Nazimova (based on the real person), a silent movie star has opened her private estate as The Garden of Allah hotel. Famous writers and movie stars make the Garden their home from time to time, but the first residents we meet are 3 youngsters new in town.
Marcus, …
I was hooked on the series from the start. If you like celebrities, especially from the 20’s through the 50’s you will LOVE these books. The main characters are 3 very different people. Young people who came to Hollywood to pursue their careers. The things they get into are funny, sometimes scary and all involve stars you ( if you’re a old film …
What fun to read intricate and entertaining stories written to include many famous names from the early years of Tinsel Town. The whole series is a delight.
Good read. Nothing here to make your day worse or aggravate you. Just an amusing insight into Hollywood if long ago. I enjoyed it and read it in a few hours. L C in NY
I very rarely like a first book enough to run out and get the whole series – but I did with this! Combining great characters (and weaving in a number of real people alongside the fictional ones) with a fantastic sense of place and time, the author tells a whacking good tale. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in Old Hollywood or …
This was a book I took a chance on, on a whim, when I saw it listed for free on BookBub. It led to an obsessive reading of the entire nine book series, and renewed a long dormant love of old Hollywood. This book/series entwines three fantastic fictional characters with their more fantastical real life Hollywood players from the late 1920’s …
Martin Turnbull is so knowledgeable about Hollywood’s history that all the details keep you in the engrossing story. The characters are so well-crafted they could have been real people.
An interesting story dealing with the early days of Hollywood. The three main characters arrive in Hollywood at the advent of talking pictures. A lot of name dropping of the old stars (I had to do several Google searches on names that were familar to me but I couldn’t picture). It’s the first in a series of books that continue to follow the main …
I was so excited to find out that there’s two (I think) more books in this little series. Who doesn’t love the glamour days of Hollywood? Wonderful entertaining reading.
I LOVED THAT ERA, HE HAS ME HOOKED!!!
great setting back in the good old days of LA
I love a good historical fiction. This book is perfect for anyone who loves the ideas of the glamour of old Hollywood. It follows the lives of 3 people who want to hit it big in Hollywood (a writer, an actress, and a journalist). This page turner took me less than 24 hours to read, and I’ve already bought the next of the series!
A peek into old time Hollywood. I liked the characters. They didn’t always have a “Hollywood ending” so they were more real
I enjoyed this book, the twist and turns of these three young lives kept me wanted to read this book.
Good light read if you like old Hollywood and what may be very accurate writing of the characters.
I really enjoyed reading this eBook, which I read free from Amazon. I would like to read the sequels. I did feel like I was transported back on time. One of my favorite parts was reading about the silent screen and other celebs of the time.
This was a terrific read about a fascinating time in history. It was well researched and well writen. I read it prior to taking a cruise through the Pananma Canal and it enhanced my enjoyment of the trip.
Pleasant and Fun
I picked this book after I’d finished an emotionally heavy novel and wanted something light. This was an enjoyable book start to finish. Both entertaining and realistic as historical events along with real people are placed throughout the fictional storyline. Well paced, mildly dramatic, lively characters and the golden age of …
A little simplistic. Plus the main characters, all minor players in the Hollywood of the time, rub elbows with all sorts of famous folk. An entertaining enough read but not great literature