Reviews 'As Marsha Gordon argues in her engaging new biography, Becoming the Ex-Wife, the novel 'offers a strong case for the protections of marriage and the dangers of being an unattached woman.'. With elegant wit and a deft command of the archive, Marsha Gordon tells a timely story about the life of a woman on the front lines of a culture war that is still raging today. Part biography, part cultural history, Becoming the Ex-Wife establishes Parrott's rightful place in twentieth-century American culture, uncovering her neglected work and keen insights into American women's lives during a period of immense social change.Īlthough she was frequently dismissed as a 'woman's writer,' reading Parrott's writing today makes it clear that she was a trenchant philosopher of modernity-her work was prescient, anticipating issues not widely raised until decades after her decline into obscurity. Her best sellers, Hollywood film deals, marriages and divorces, and run-ins with the law made her a household name.

The riveting biography of Ursula Parrott-best-selling author, Hollywood screenwriter, and voice for the modern woman.Ĭredited with popularizing the label 'ex-wife' in 1929, Ursula Parrott wrote provocatively about divorcées, career women, single mothers, work-life balance, and a host of new challenges facing modern women. 'Remind us of the brazenly talented women sidelined by convention.'- New York Times 'Makes an excellent case for Parrott as an unjustly forgotten historical figure.'- The New Yorker

American wife novel