If awards were given to writers for packing the most cliches into one book--or even into one sentence--this gal would be in the running. Here's one of my favorites: "I was fit to be tied, ready to throw in the sponge and tell them where they could take their cotton-pickin' job." If this is your idea of sparkling prose, welcome to it. I find it no wonder that she and her husband didn't get too far as screenwriters. Of course, the fact that their greatest success was a now-forgotten Betty Grable musical should tell you something. As for the "shocking" facts about early Hollywood, the trade reviews (see above) quote every one of the most interesting, gossipy and shocking passages in the book. So save your money: you've just read it.

It's hard to believe the world described by Frederica Sagor Maas in her memoir "The Shocking Miss Pilgrim" existed within the lifetimes of people alive today. So many of those who were once household names are now forgotten, so many of the places changed irrevocably.

Yet many of Ms. Maas' experiences & views will come as quite a surprise to the younger generation who tend to think they invented sex, drugs & partying. It's a revelation to hear a woman born in 1900, talking about herself at 20 state "I considered sex something natural like eating or getting dressed. Once it was over, it was over."

For a lifelong LA resident (now in exile) like myself, the greatest pleasure of this book was reading about what life was like in the entertainment capital at the beginning of it's reign. Now decrepit apartment houses described when they were desirable addresses; crowded urban corridors that were once sylvan wildlife areas! What surprises lurk here for those who know LA well!

For the general reader, the memoir moves along well, with Ms. Maas' tart comments always enlivening the recollections. The writing style is sparse & not especially descriptive as you would expect from someone who got her start writing scenarios for silent film. I did feel the book could benefit from some fleshing out; entire decades pass in a few paragraphs, the section describing the making of the film the book is entitled after is only a few pages long, & there were many experiences mentioned that would have benefitted from more description. But I guess at nearly 100 the past must often seem a film at fast forward & Ms. Maas' memory is to be commended!

This book is a valuable addition to the memoirs from the Golden Age of Film. It is especially valuable because it's from someone who was not viewing the industry from the heights but rather from the trenches. I salute Frederica Sagor Maas for having the honesty & clear-sightedness to produce this autobiography & for living the life she has led.

Extraordinary story from many angles: that of a bright, young female writer in the Twenties who could have risen to the top of her profession and should have, were it not for the jealous men who got in her way. That of a woman who was there when Hollywood was still a dirt road and saw it all. That of an emancipated woman who celebrates her independence in every sense of the word. That of a brilliant screenwriting couple permanently scarred by the McCarthy Witchhunts. I would have wished for more on her (and Ernest's) life after Hollywood. Did they stay in touch with Hollywood friends? How did their lives change? Reminds me a bit of today's crop of downsized millions forced to rechart their lives and who face the formidable barrier of age discrimination. Wonderful book! And by a near-centenarian, yet! What a salute to life after 50!!