Merely Players by Lucy Floyd

"Two aspiring actresses meet in London in 1958 - the era of the Angry Young Man and the sexual revolution - Paula, a runaway from council care and Isabel, daughter of a theatrical knight and a Hollywood film star. It is to be the beginning of an unlikely and enduring friendship. Over the next two decades their lives will intertwine as the story moves between London, New York and Los Angeles. The conflict between their personal and professional ambitions will force both women to make difficult choices which prove to have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences as their lives are dogged by violence, scandal and heartbreak, and overshadowed by their love, and sometimes hatred, for the same man. Merely Players captures the atmosphere of the theatrical world and maps out the landscape of the male and female heart, evoking the struggles, hopes, fears and illusions that lurk behind the surface glamour of actors' lives. 'There are more twists and turns than you'd get from a full bag of corkscrews . . . gripping, moving, intelligent and, quite simply, brilliant.' LE1 Magazine 'Her writing is compelling and so are her characters - gritty, engaging, infuriating, engrossing, absolutely true to life.' Reay Tannahill."