Kindle
$2.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$35.99
Paperback
$21.99
Buy new:
$21.99
FREE delivery Thursday, May 2 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Thursday, May 2 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 7 hrs 21 mins
In Stock
$$21.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$21.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$3.99 delivery May 6 - 7. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by HPB-Ruby
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Laini Giles
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas (Forgotten Actresses) Paperback – July 18, 2015

by Laini Giles (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 768 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$21.99","priceAmount":21.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"21","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"f2hewX14sozAq1pRS1qvJTWCJxDBtfiowhjLhMcGRZB3x5n4FEPL8b7UVgjPVGcyYvYGY4zG7njn0JVi6Vdq2AvwWKUththbeTBA9iyEAzWIEX3lqCURLnpIYAC7sbcqV6Ol4A4w0dn28PVTH%2FGRvQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$10.19","priceAmount":10.19,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"19","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"f2hewX14sozAq1pRS1qvJTWCJxDBtfio2QS7QH1%2BUL6lR0NeWtTw%2FA69DMWbSu9oUFt9WjfLyyiJUkzNq0OzqxPpljUQD%2FpdSQ2jYIiqB900D7kmexImk61OzLMyK%2FDFBctqCkqP%2BID67%2Bgq45%2Fg5eAjbjZXDtEmAUiIWeeB%2FRHipxQSwUkGQxSlwq9o1toa","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

A presence lurks in New York City’s New Amsterdam Theatre when the lights go down and the audience goes home. They say she’s the ghost of OLIVE THOMAS, one of the loveliest girls who ever lit up the Ziegfeld Follies and the silent screen. From her longtime home at the theater, Ollie’s ghost tells her story from her early life in Pittsburgh to her tragic death at twenty-five.After winning a contest for “The Most Beautiful Girl in New York,” shopgirl Ollie modeled for the most famous artists in New York, and then went on to become the toast of Broadway. When Hollywood beckoned, Ollie signed first with Triangle Pictures, and then with MYRON SELZNICK’s new production company, becoming most well known for her work as a “baby vamp,” the precursor to the flappers of the 1920s. After a stormy courtship, she married playboy JACK PICKFORD, MARY PICKFORD’s wastrel brother. Together they developed a reputation for drinking, club-going, wrecking cars, and fighting, along with giving each other expensive make-up gifts. Ollie's mysterious death in Paris’ Ritz Hotel in 1920 was one of Hollywood’s first scandals, ensuring that her legend lived on.
Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Forgotten Actresses
  2. Print length
    420 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    July 18, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0994734905
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0994734907
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas (Forgotten Actresses)
$21.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty
$29.95
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A film buff"s dream, wrapped in the decadence and glamour of a bygone era." - Kirkus Reviews

"Laini Giles' 'The Forgotten Flapper: A Novel of Olive Thomas' is a cautionary tale of fame but also an absolute treat for anyone who is interested in early film history or can relate to the struggle of following one's dreams." - Heinz History Center

About the Author

A native of Austin, Texas, Laini Giles grew up the daughter of bookworms, and became a Nancy Drew devotee early on. When she realized there might be no escape from hairy tarantulas and bad guys with guns, she put her detective dreams on hold and wrote about them instead, finishing her first mystery novel with custom illustrations when she was eight. It was this love of mystery combined with a love of old MGM musicals and The Marx Brothers that led her to check Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon out of the library during her formative years. Ideas began to simmer.A graduate of the University of North Texas, she put the writing on hold for a while when real life got in the way (i.e.--she met and married her Canadian husband and headed north for maple-flavored goodies and real beer). She highly recommends moving to another country and not being able to work for a year for finishing any novels you may have laying around. Laini and her husband live in Edmonton, Alberta with their two cats.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sepia Stories Publishing; 1st edition (July 18, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 420 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0994734905
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0994734907
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.56 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 768 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Laini Giles

Laini Giles

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

A native of Austin, Texas, Laini Giles grew up the daughter of bookworms, and became a Nancy Drew devotee early on. When she realized there might be no escape from hairy tarantulas and bad guys with guns, she put her detective dreams on hold and wrote about them instead, finishing her first mystery novel with custom illustrations when she was eight.

It was this love of mystery combined with a love of old MGM musicals and The Marx Brothers that led her to check Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon out of the library during her formative years. Ideas began to simmer.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, she put the writing on hold for a while when real life got in the way (i.e.--she met and married her Canadian husband and headed north for maple-flavored goodies and real beer). She highly recommends moving to another country and not being able to work for a year for finishing any novels you may have laying around. Laini lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her cat.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
768 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

RoadTripDog
5.0 out of 5 stars A Life Too Short: Olive Thomas - Model, Dancer, Actress
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
Became interested in the early flickers when I began researching Louise Brooks. I came across this book and although Olive Thomas was a few years before Louise I bought and read it. The author gives us a very believable Ollie with all her good and not-so-good points. Starting out poor as a churchmouse she rises to become a Follies dancer, with a good reporting of what it was like to be a Follies girl and how Ollie's life becomes a roller coaster ride. When she is recruited to become an actress the highs get higher and the lows, lower. The ride slides completely out of control when bad boy Jack Pickford comes into her life. The reader hopes that Ollie can see what's coming, and maybe she does but cannot do anything about it as she hangs on, quite literally, for her life.

The story is told in sharp vignettes, sad, exciting, funny, dangerous, thrilling - quite the kaleidoscope of emotions, even considering the era. I had previously read the conventional media's wild-eyed reporting of what happened and also an apologists version of Jack and Ollie, saying that despite the evidence of their lifestyle, maybe it really wasn't like that. We will never know for sure but I think this book provides a very plausible filling in of the gaps between the known events. Giles treats Olive Thomas fairly and with compassion. Although it is ultimately a sad story - we know up front that it is going to end badly - this is an excellent book for those interested in a slice of life from the era, the Follies, the early flickers and some dish on the celebrities of the day.
21 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
webstitch
4.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Flapper Series: Olive Thomas
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
I am very picky about the mechanical aspects of writing, and this novel(compared to way too many horribly unedited ebooks)is very well-written - not perfect, but good. What really surprised and impressed me, however, was how well the author researched her subject. I can't say the characters were emotionally deep, so it was hard to root for them(probably because it was written in the first person; which I abhor: Save It For Your Autobiographies!), but the author's style and knowledge of the era pulls you along nicely. I found Olive's wise-cracking street-style speech pattern over the top, but now I'm just nit picking. I will read this author's future novels as long as they're set in the same era. That's a high compliment coming from me, because, if the ebooks I've downloaded so far are any indication of the modern norm, I'll only be saying that about a handful of ebook writers in future.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Linda H. Cerullo
5.0 out of 5 stars A Look Back at a Little-Known But Intriguing Silent Film Actress
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
For many years I wondered why no one every wrote a book on Olive Thomas. Perhaps because she is so little-known. She should, however, be far more well known. One of Hollywood's early actresses she had a vibrant career that no doubt would have put her in the same category as Mary Pickford, who interestingly enough was her sister-in-law, or many of the other stars of stage and screen before "talkies". A career that sadly ended far too soon and under tragic and rather disturbing circumstances. Olive is a small town girl from Pennsylvania who dreams of something better. That dream leads her to New York City and an eventual job with the Zeigfield Follies. From there she is catapulted to fame in the early films Hollywood was producing at the time. This is Hollywood that is not yet completely settled and still has areas that are somewhat "rough". It also has its own "decadence" which Olive experiences in the form of Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford's brother and Olive's eventual husband. Her life is filled with joyful moments and deep sadness and despair. She struggles on until her untimely death which I will reveal nothing about here as you must read the book! I found myself getting out of bed in the middle of reading the book (sometimes until 3:00 am as I could not put it down) to check out the images of the people in this book via the internet. I had read a good deal about Olive in "Hollywood-scandal-type" books, but this was as comprehensive a history of her life as you could get. It is historical fiction, but completely based on fact. Laini Giles did her homework and creates a beautiful, loving portrait of a woman who really never got a chance at the stardom that no doubt would have been hers. Which makes her end that much more gut-wrenching and devastating. Am looking forward to subsequent books in this series. Have added Laini to my list of favorite authors and that doesn't happen too much in my never-ending list of "To Be Read" books. This is a do not miss!
53 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
panda belle
3.0 out of 5 stars good but could be much better.
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
a good read about a forgotten actress. interesting and certainly tragic but could have used more fleshing out rather than so much name dropping. the more famous characters were interesting but other than Ziegfeld and an jJack Pickford rather one dimensional. more information regarding the Pickford sisters would have made the book more interesting and rather than being told from Olive Thompson's viewpoint a more omniscient view would have added more depth to all thee characters and brought forth the reasons for the Pickford sisters' jealousy and Jack's monstrous flaws.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
robertbecker
4.0 out of 5 stars The past stripped of hype.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is an entertaining view into a time long since past and of personalities often misrepresented. The Follies in my mind have always seemed to fit the fanciful Hollywood versions of the times and customs. It was interesting to follow the interaction of the bright Lights of Broadway and the budding film industry. The checkered life of heroine brings out many of the warts and blemishes of the golden era. The sexual adventures and entanglements of the stars, shakers and movers of the entertainment industry have been hinted at and documented copiously. What threw me was the wide spread use of narcotics. For some reason I had always thought "coke"and other junk was more of a thirties and forties unspoken thing. I really was rooting for Olive and her other lesser known companions and "wantabies". An informative and enlightening read.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

WENDY NADIN
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Australia on July 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
THIS BOOK WAS A GREAT READ I HAD A HARD TIME PUTTING IT DOWN
I LOVED THE WAY TO WRITER WROTE I FELT LIKE IT WAS OLIVE THOMAS TALKING TO ME AND IT FELT LIKE I WAS
THERE WITH HER WALKING WITH HER THROUGH HER LIFE.
Report
G.Kerr
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at a sparkling young flapper entwined in glamour, fame and tragedy
Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
I bought this book (paper copy) and really enjoyed it. I don't normally read fictionalized accounts of real people's lives but the author stuck pretty close to the documented facts in a well-paced and readable narrative. There's still so much unknown about Olive and Jack, but I did like the author's thoughtful conclusions. I recommend this book to all readers and look forward to Laini Giles' next endeavor.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
PSD
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed it a lot
Reviewed in India on August 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very interesting story and well written from the perspective of a ghost. Enjoyed it a lot.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Mr. Kenneth D. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow.......
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
Wow, I could not put this book down. A fictitious story , using a real silent film star, Olive Thomas, and a cast of mainly real people, also using known situations and facts.
A brilliant story, from an unusual angle, ( the story is narrated by Olive's ghost). Funny, sad and revealing by turns, I cannot recommend this book highly enough, be warned though , have plenty of tea and snacks handy, and, if you start this book at night, be prepared to lose a lot of sleep, you will really want to see what happens at the end of the story. I cannot wait for other book from this author.
4 people found this helpful
 Report
christine gore
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
Much better read than I'd hoped for. Really brought the era to life with extravagant characters and story line. A little too long but overall great.
Report