Reclusive Hollywood mega star Evelyn Hugo, has decided to break her silence about her life and the truth of her seven marriages.

The tell-all memoir will be the publishing sensation of the century yet Evelyn doesn’t want a big name author to write the book. Instead she chooses a relatively unknown magazine reporter, Monique Grant, for reasons that only become clear very late in Taylor Reid Jenkins’s novel.

Over the course of interviews in Evelyn’s luxuriously appointed New York apartment, she recounts how she went from a childhood with an abusive father in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan to the Oscar red carpet.

Hers was a life of ambition and self-sacrifice, of obstacles overcome and opportunities seized. Underlying her transformation was a steely determination to do whatever was necessary to achieve her goals.

When you’re given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. … The world doesn’t give things, you take things. If you learn one thing from me, it should probably be that.

Her seven marriages are all strategic moves carefully calculated to advance her career, protect her secrets and shield the person she truly loves.

The result is a novel that pulls back the glittering veneer of Hollywood’s golden age. Reid’s Hollywood is a machine that denies its stars the freedom to be themselves. Marriages are arranged; domestic abuse covered up and romantic assignations with gay actors manufactured, all in the name of the “correct” public image.

What makes The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo such a compelling novel is Reid’s refusal to paint Evelyn as either victim or villain. She is clearly a calculating woman but in a world which offered few opportunities to women she played her strongest card — her beauty and striking figure.

Evelyn’s Cuban heritage adds another layer of complexity, as she navigates not only the sexism of Hollywood but also its casual racism, anglicising her name and lightening her appearance to fit the industry’s narrow definition of stardom.

In the public eye she is a glamorous temptress whose love life is as dramatic as her film roles. They lap up every snippet of gossip about her marriages, readily believing she’s a flirt, a femme fatale and even an adulteress.

What they don’t know — and this is the great secret of the novel — is that Evelyn is none of these things. She is rather, a woman capable of deep love, fierce loyalty, and profound sacrifice.

Spoiler Alert

Skip the paragraph in red to avoid discovering a key detail of the plot.

During the course of her interviews with Monique Grant, Evelyn reveals her biggest secret — her relationship with another Hollywood star, Celia St. James. This one true love of Evelyn’s life could never be acknowledged in public because it would have destroyed both their careers. They rely instead on stolen moments, hidden apartments and a coded language for their love. “I spent half of my life loving her, and half of my life hiding how much I loved her,” she tells Monique.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo shows the damage caused when deception—even when in a good cause —permeates every relationship. Evelyn’s inability to be publicly authentic strains even her most genuine connections, creating a profound loneliness that wealth and fame cannot touch.

This is a highly readable novel enriched by its commentary on fame, identity and personal freedom.