Harlow's friend Ruth Luise Hamp inherited the rights to the unpublished manuscript, Today Is Tonight,[2] when Harlow's mother died, and then published the novel.[3][4] Film critic Ezra Goodman wrote the introduction.[5] Harlow's agent, Arthur Landau wrote the foreword.[6]
According to Landau, in his foreword to the novel,[6] Harlow had expressed interest in writing a novel as early as 1933–1934 and completed a manuscript before her death in 1937. During her life, Harlow's stepfather Marino Bello shopped the unpublished manuscript around to a few studios.[7]Louis B. Mayer had prevented the book from being sold by putting an injunction on it, using a clause in Harlow's contract that her services as an artist can't be used without MGM's permission.[7] After her death, Landau writes, her mother sold the film rights to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and retained the publication rights, but no film was made and the novel itself remained unpublished until the mid-1960s.
It was published in condensed form in the July 1965 issue of Mademoiselle,[8] in hardcover in July 1965 by Grove Press[9] and in paperback later in 1965 by Dell Publishing.[10] At the time of publication, press coverage stated that screenwriter Carey Wilson assisted Harlow with the book.[8]
The novel is set in the 1920s, amongst the opulent living of the Hollywood wealthy elite, and focuses on one couple, Peter and Judy Lansdowne.
Receptionedit
In 2013 English writer and humourist Cassandra Parkin reviewed the novel on her blog as part of her series "Adventures in Trash".[11] In her review she listed the novel's many faults, including logical inconsistencies – such as when the heroine convinces her blind husband that day is night and night is day in order to conceal her job as a nude model (from the article: "Because blind people don’t have Circadian rhythms, or hearing, or the ability to sense changes in temperature, or brains, or anything at all really, and are basically just useless lumps of animated carbon sitting around eating and taking up space until they die.") – poor plotting, Mary Sue characterisation, and bizarre departures from the story into rambles on subjects like philosophy (from the novel: "If I had a stenographer to take down what I was thinking, it would be an awful lesson to George Bernard Shaw.").
However, despite confessing that "it’s utter, utter nonsense", Parkin "adore[s] it", writing: "however ridiculous this book is, it’s also charming – in the way writing often is when it’s written in a breathless rush and without any thought for what anyone will make of it". She also praises the contemporary detail ("There are lots of things I love about this fantastically odd novel, but one of my favourite things has got to be the quirky little glimpses it gives into the time it comes from"), such as the focus on knees, skin, and shaved armpits as signifiers of female beauty.
Referencesedit
^Harlow, Jean (1965). Today is Tonight. New York: Grove Press. OCLC 1374868.
^"Today is Tonight (Manuscript for the novel, copy belonging to Harlow's agent Arthur Landau) by Harlow, Jean (novel); Arthur Landau (introduction) - 1930". Biblio.co.uk.
^"Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1966: January-June". Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 7 January 1968 – via Google Books.
^Harlow, Jean (7 January 1965). "Today is Tonight: A Novel". Grove Press – via Google Books.
^"Endgame". The New Yorker. 22 July 2010 – via www.newyorker.com.
today, tonight, confused, with, today, tonight, today, tonight, irish, programme, today, tonight, novel, written, hollywood, actress, jean, harlow, 1930s, published, until, 1965, today, tonightfirst, paperback, edition, coverauthorjean, harlowcountryunited, st. Not to be confused with Today Tonight or Today Tonight Irish TV programme Today Is Tonight is a novel written by Hollywood actress Jean Harlow in the mid 1930s but not published until 1965 1 Today Is TonightFirst paperback edition coverAuthorJean HarlowCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherGrove Press h b Dell Publishing p b Publication date1965 written c 1934 37 Media typePrint Paperback Publication editHarlow s friend Ruth Luise Hamp inherited the rights to the unpublished manuscript Today Is Tonight 2 when Harlow s mother died and then published the novel 3 4 Film critic Ezra Goodman wrote the introduction 5 Harlow s agent Arthur Landau wrote the foreword 6 According to Landau in his foreword to the novel 6 Harlow had expressed interest in writing a novel as early as 1933 1934 and completed a manuscript before her death in 1937 During her life Harlow s stepfather Marino Bello shopped the unpublished manuscript around to a few studios 7 Louis B Mayer had prevented the book from being sold by putting an injunction on it using a clause in Harlow s contract that her services as an artist can t be used without MGM s permission 7 After her death Landau writes her mother sold the film rights to Metro Goldwyn Mayer and retained the publication rights but no film was made and the novel itself remained unpublished until the mid 1960s It was published in condensed form in the July 1965 issue of Mademoiselle 8 in hardcover in July 1965 by Grove Press 9 and in paperback later in 1965 by Dell Publishing 10 At the time of publication press coverage stated that screenwriter Carey Wilson assisted Harlow with the book 8 The novel is set in the 1920s amongst the opulent living of the Hollywood wealthy elite and focuses on one couple Peter and Judy Lansdowne Reception editIn 2013 English writer and humourist Cassandra Parkin reviewed the novel on her blog as part of her series Adventures in Trash 11 In her review she listed the novel s many faults including logical inconsistencies such as when the heroine convinces her blind husband that day is night and night is day in order to conceal her job as a nude model from the article Because blind people don t have Circadian rhythms or hearing or the ability to sense changes in temperature or brains or anything at all really and are basically just useless lumps of animated carbon sitting around eating and taking up space until they die poor plotting Mary Sue characterisation and bizarre departures from the story into rambles on subjects like philosophy from the novel If I had a stenographer to take down what I was thinking it would be an awful lesson to George Bernard Shaw However despite confessing that it s utter utter nonsense Parkin adore s it writing however ridiculous this book is it s also charming in the way writing often is when it s written in a breathless rush and without any thought for what anyone will make of it She also praises the contemporary detail There are lots of things I love about this fantastically odd novel but one of my favourite things has got to be the quirky little glimpses it gives into the time it comes from such as the focus on knees skin and shaved armpits as signifiers of female beauty References edit Harlow Jean 1965 Today is Tonight New York Grove Press OCLC 1374868 Today is Tonight Manuscript for the novel copy belonging to Harlow s agent Arthur Landau by Harlow Jean novel Arthur Landau introduction 1930 Biblio co uk Catalog of Copyright Entries Third Series 1966 January June Copyright Office Library of Congress 7 January 1968 via Google Books Harlow Jean 7 January 1965 Today is Tonight A Novel Grove Press via Google Books Endgame The New Yorker 22 July 2010 via www newyorker com a b https www counterpointla com pictures 48591 3 jpg bare URL image file a b Neibaur James L 2019 03 28 The Jean Harlow Films McFarland ISBN 978 1 4766 7484 1 a b Sheppard Eugenia 1965 06 22 Harlow Novel Leaves No Dry Eye The Montreal Gazette p 20 retrieved 2010 01 17 People Jul 16 1965 Time 1965 07 16 archived from the original on June 4 2011 Winchell Prentice 1965 08 15 The Reading Lamp Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal p 16 retrieved 2009 01 17 Adventures In Trash Today Is Tonight by Jean Harlow 12 June 2013 LCCN 65 23416 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Today is Tonight amp oldid 1167911334, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
