'Absolutely not to be missed' - Kate Quinn on this sumptuous historical epic from the author of Mexican Gothic. Golden Age Hollywood - a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary temptress. So when the film's mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves. As Vera navigates the glitz and the gilded glamour of her new city, Nancy follows silently behind, trying to take everything she believes Vera has been unfairly handed. But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself. Consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Salome is a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart. And tragedy is waiting in the wings . . . for all three women. 'Will leave you spellbound' - Fiona Davis

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine—but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic. “Whenever I want to read a book I know will be good, I go to Silvia Moreno-Garcia.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo 1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times. So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves. Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination. But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart. Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.

"Chapter 1 differentiates between religious spectaculars and biblical spectaculars. The following chapters discuss early religious films and how the post-war and cold war eras led to a struggle to define the righteous nation. Chapters on biblical spectaculars examine films in which sex and social responsibility was a paramount concern (Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba). The 1960s were dominated by films about Jesus and the search for an ethical system for a world undergoing rapid social change. One entire chapter is devoted to Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, the epitome of the biblical spectacular form, followed by a chapter on John Huston's The Bible as a culmination of the form, and a final chapter on how television rethought spectaculars and how Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ drew the battle lines between humanistic Christians and evangelical Christians.