The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid · 2017
A reclusive Old Hollywood icon finally tells the truth about her seven marriages -- and only one of them was ever about love.
Worth reading? The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the best of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Hollywood novels because Evelyn herself is a genuinely complex, morally gray narrator rather than a sympathetic victim -- she manipulates, lies, and hurts people to get what she wants, and the book makes you root for her anyway. It beats Daisy Jones and the Six for readers who want one tightly plotted story instead of an oral-history format.
| Author | Taylor Jenkins Reid |
|---|---|
| Published | 2017 |
| Publisher | Atria Books |
| Category | Fiction |
| Favorite quote | “People think intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth.” |
The Verdict
Reid’s real skill here is restraint at exactly the right moments – Evelyn tells you upfront she’s done terrible things, and the book lets you sit with liking her anyway instead of rushing to redeem her. That’s rarer than it sounds in this genre. If you’ve bounced off other Old Hollywood novels for being too soft on their stars, this one isn’t.
you want a glamorous, emotionally propulsive Hollywood epic with a genuinely surprising emotional core, not just a beach-read premise
you're allergic to soap-opera plotting -- this leans hard into melodrama (secret affairs, staged marriages, tragic twists) and doesn't apologize for it
Book Summary
Evelyn built her entire public identity -- and all seven marriages -- as strategic moves to survive and succeed in an industry that would have discarded her otherwise. The book argues that surviving as a woman (and especially a queer, Cuban-American woman) in mid-century Hollywood required constant, exhausting performance.
Love and marriage are shown as two separate, often unrelated things. Evelyn's real love story runs underneath and around most of her legal marriages, most of which were transactional -- for image management, for closeting a partner, for career advancement.
The novel is structured as a confession to a nobody journalist, and part of its power is the reveal of why Evelyn chose that particular journalist -- the personal stakes turn out to be much closer to home than either character expects.
Top 8 Lessons from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- Evelyn treats her marriages as career and survival strategy, not romance, and is unapologetic about it in retrospect.
- Her friendship-turned-love with Celia St. James is the book's real love story, complicated by the closet Hollywood forced on both of them.
- Reid uses a frame narrative (Evelyn dictating her story to journalist Monique Grant) to control what the reader learns and when.
- The book portrays the studio system as actively enforcing image control over actresses' sexuality, ethnicity, and relationships.
- Evelyn's ambition is never punished by the narrative as a moral failing -- the book treats her ruthlessness as understandable rather than villainous.
- Race is a throughline: Evelyn hides her Cuban heritage and lightens her image to be cast, a choice the book returns to without resolving neatly.
- The final twist reframes Monique's own life and grief, tying the past storyline to the present one.
- Loyalty between women (Evelyn and Celia, eventually Evelyn and Monique) is positioned as more durable than any of Evelyn's marriages.
Top 3 Quotes from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
"People think intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth."
Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
"When you've spent your whole life avoiding the harshest parts of yourself, seeing them in vivid color can feel unbearable."
Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
"I'm always a little surprised when I'm not the one who ends up hurt in this life."
Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo worth reading?
Yes -- it's the best-plotted of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Hollywood novels, with a morally complicated narrator and a genuine surprise in its final chapters.
Is Evelyn Hugo a real person?
No, Evelyn Hugo is entirely fictional, though Reid has said her career loosely draws inspiration from real classic Hollywood stars.
What is the twist in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?
Without spoiling it directly: the identity and stakes of the journalist Evelyn chooses to tell her story to turn out to be much more personal than either of them initially lets on.
Who should read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?
Readers who want a glamorous, emotionally big Hollywood epic with a genuinely gray-area protagonist. Skip it if soap-opera plotting isn't your thing.
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