The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo — Taylor Jenkins Reid

Summary

In the novel, famed actress Evelyn Hugo, aged 79 and bereft of loved ones, decides to reveal her hidden life story to struggling writer Monique Grant. Despite her confusion over Evelyn's choice to give her this exclusive and lucrative biography project, Monique dives deep into her research, uncovering the secret chronicles of Evelyn's seven marriages through their conversations.

Evelyn's tale starts in the poverty-stricken Hell's Kitchen of Manhattan, where she, after the loss of her mother and abuse from her father, uses her allure to hitch a ride to Hollywood with her first husband, Ernie Diaz. Evelyn skillfully navigates Hollywood's intricate networks, changing her appearance and hiding her Cuban heritage to fit the mold of Hollywood leading ladies. This manipulation of her image, coupled with strategically orchestrated relationships, boosts her career.

However, her personal life turns tumultuous when she falls for fellow actor Don Adler, who soon starts to abuse her. She meets actress Celia St. James during the shooting of 'Little Women', and they form a close bond that eventually blossoms into romance. Evelyn leaves Don for Celia, but their relationship remains a secret as Evelyn struggles with her career, which had been jeopardized by a vindictive Don.

To revive her career, Evelyn stars in a successful French film, then manipulates media focus with a brief scandalous marriage to rockstar Mick Riva. However, this move results in a fallout with Celia. In the present day, inspired by Evelyn's love for Celia, Monique decides to leave her estranged husband. Meanwhile, Evelyn enters a series of sham marriages to advance her career and hide her relationship with Celia.

Reconciliation between Evelyn and Celia occurs at the Academy Awards, leading to a period of shared living and pseudo marriages with their respective 'beards'. Evelyn and Harry, her fake husband, have a daughter, Connor, and share a deep platonic love. After a series of tragic events, including Celia leaving Evelyn again and Harry's death in a car crash, Evelyn ends up marrying Max Girard, only to find that he is enamored with her facade, not her true self.

Eventually, Evelyn and Celia reconcile and decide to live out Celia's last years in Spain, as she's diagnosed with emphysema. Evelyn's driver is involved in a fatal car crash, killing Monique's father, which Harry takes the blame for, leading to his death. Evelyn reveals to Monique the truth about her father's death and her own impending death due to breast cancer. The book concludes with Monique's article about Evelyn, which reveals the actress's bisexuality and announces the upcoming biography.