The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: Review

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a captivating story about a reclusive classic Hollywood film star from the 1960s who’s finally ready to give the interview about her glamorous and scandalous life. Our reviewer, Molly McCafferty, shares her take on the novel.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a spell-binding book that intertwines the lives of two people at the crossroads of their existence. Evelyn Hugo, an internationally-known movie star, is ready to tell the truth about her life for the first — and last — time at the age of 79. She decides that Monique Grant, a relatively-unknown (and a little star-struck) journalist, is the one to tell her story.

“Torn between her loyalty to the magazine and her curiosity, she has to make another decision that will change her life forever. If Monique doesn’t write the book, Evelyn’s life story will die with her.”

Monique is summoned to Evelyn’s New York apartment under the premise of a cover story for the magazine Vivant. She quickly realizes that Evelyn has chosen her specifically for a reasons — for everything Evelyn Hugo has done in life has been calculated. Torn between her loyalty to the magazine and her curiosity, she has to make another decision that will change her life forever. If Monique doesn’t write the book, Evelyn’s life story will die with her. Evelyn explains, “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 you things.”

The Back Story

Evelyn Hugo has lived her life as a Hollywood icon and a survivor. At an early age, she understands how to use her beauty to manipulate men to achieve her dreams. With the death of her mother, Evelyn’s desire to escape Hell’s Kitchen and get to Hollywood burns bright. Determined not to fall prey to her abusive father, she marries her first husband before she’s sixteen years old.

Once settled in Hollywood, Evelyn gets a job waiting tables near Sunset Studios — instead of finishing high school — and pretends to be a devoted wife while trying desperately to be discovered as an actress. It doesn’t take long for her breathtaking beauty to get noticed by a successful Hollywood producer. Getting discovered sets Evelyn’s career on the path to become one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. Thirty years and six more husbands come and go as Evelyn’s glamorous and scandalous life unfolds.

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Why now?

For Evelyn, it finally feels like the time to let the world know everything about her true self — not the one that has been fabricated with the help of the media. It is also her chance to set the record straight about her one true forbidden love and her best friend who she will do anything to protect.

Monique becomes connected to Evelyn and begins to draw strength from her life story. It is this strength that enables Monique to complete a chapter of her own story as she begins to understand that, “Sometimes divorce isn’t an earth-shattering loss. Sometimes it’s just two people waking up out of a fog.”

However, as Evelyn’s story begins to unfold, it may become more than Monique can handle as she learns the truth about her devastating connection to Evelyn. A truth that will threaten to destroy everything that she holds dear. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid has said that The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo takes inspiration from the real-life stories of Elizabeth Taylor (married eight times to seven men) and Ava Gardner, both of whom have been biographied with salacious details about their lives and loves. Evelyn Hugo proves a fascinating, if fictional, mirror to these women.

If you didn’t catch it the first time, this book is a captivating read about the relationship between these two women and the men in their orbits, the real cost of fame, and finding your way to the truth. The perfect end-of-summer, post-beach page-turner.