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Quick answer: If you loved Valley of the Dolls, read The Group, Peyton Place, Hollywood Wives and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. All deliver glamour, ambition, scandal and the price women pay for success.
Jacqueline Susann's 1966 blockbuster follows three women in show business whose careers and addictions rise and fall. It is a guilty pleasure and a snapshot of its time. The books below share its mix of fame, friendship, betrayal and melodrama, from vintage novels to modern stories about Hollywood and the cost of the spotlight.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Group | Mary McCarthy | Adult | classic women's fiction |
| Peyton Place | Grace Metalious | Adult | scandal in small towns |
| Hollywood Wives | Jackie Collins | Adult | glitz and gossip |
| The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Taylor Jenkins Reid | Adult | modern Hollywood drama |
| Daisy Jones & The Six | Taylor Jenkins Reid | Adult | music and addiction |
| Beautiful Ruins | Jess Walter | Adult | Hollywood history |
| The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath | Adult | mental health |
| Breakfast at Tiffany's | Truman Capote | Adult | glamorous antiheroines |
| Fear of Flying | Erica Jong | Adult | 1970s feminism |
| Postcards from the Edge | Carrie Fisher | Adult | funny addiction stories |
| Less Than Zero | Bret Easton Ellis | Adult | 1980s excess |
| Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Anita Loos | Adult | comic classics |
| Blonde | Joyce Carol Oates | Adult | fame and tragedy |
| The Girls | Emma Cline | Adult | coming-of-age and danger |
| The Day of the Locust | Nathanael West | Adult | Hollywood's underside |
1. The Group by Mary McCarthy
Eight Vassar graduates enter life after college in the 1930s, facing work, marriage and sex. Sharp and funny, it was shocking when it appeared in 1963 and still reads as a witty look at women's lives.
Best for: classic women's fiction.
2. Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
Secrets and scandals bubble beneath a New England small town's polite surface. A 1956 bestseller that helped set the stage for later blockbuster novels like Susann's.
Best for: scandal in small towns.
3. Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins
The wives of powerful men in Hollywood navigate affairs, ambition and rivalry. Glitzy, fast and gloriously over the top, it is the closest cousin to Susann's style.
Best for: glitz and gossip.
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
An aging movie star tells the story of her seven marriages to a young journalist. Modern in tone but built on the same sense of glamour and sacrifice.
Best for: modern Hollywood drama.
5. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A 1970s rock band rises to fame, with addiction and romance tearing at its members. Told as interviews, it is fast and addictive.
Best for: music and addiction.
6. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
An Italian innkeeper meets a young actress in 1962, and decades later the story reaches Hollywood. Funny, warm and layered.
Best for: Hollywood history.
7. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Esther Greenwood spends a summer in New York as a magazine intern and spirals into depression. Darker and more literary, it echoes Susann's themes of pressure on young women.
Best for: mental health.
8. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Holly Golightly lives by her wits in 1940s New York, and her neighbor tells her story. Short, stylish and tinged with sadness.
Best for: glamorous antiheroines.
9. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
Isadora Wing leaves her husband and wanders Europe in search of freedom and desire. Candid and funny, it was a landmark in 1970s women's writing.
Best for: 1970s feminism.
10. Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
An actress enters rehab and returns to a Hollywood that doesn't know what to do with her. Written by Fisher with biting humour and heart.
Best for: funny addiction stories.
11. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
A college student returns to Los Angeles for winter break and finds his friends numb and drifting. Cool, bleak and influential.
Best for: 1980s excess.
12. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Lorelei Lee, a showgirl, tells her story in a diary full of malapropisms. A 1925 comic classic about love and money.
Best for: comic classics.
13. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
A fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe's life. Long, intense and powerful.
Best for: fame and tragedy.
14. The Girls by Emma Cline
A lonely teenager in 1969 California joins a cult. Lyrical and unsettling.
Best for: coming-of-age and danger.
15. The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
A set painter in 1930s Hollywood meets dreamers and drifters. A short, dark classic about the city's dark side.
Best for: Hollywood's underside.
How to Choose
For vintage melodrama with the same flavor, start with The Group, Peyton Place or Hollywood Wives. For modern stories of fame and its costs, read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six or Beautiful Ruins. For more serious, literary takes on women's lives, try The Bell Jar, Fear of Flying or The Girls. If you enjoy comic wit with your glamour, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Postcards from the Edge are the best fits. Several of these books depict addiction, abuse and suicide, so check the content notes first.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Valley of the Dolls about?
Three women, Anne, Neely and Jennifer, pursue fame in New York and Hollywood while pills, men and ambition shape their lives.
Why is it called Valley of the Dolls?
The “dolls” are the pills the characters take to cope with pressure.
Is Valley of the Dolls still worth reading?
Yes, as a fast, trashy classic and a window into 1960s showbiz.
Was it a best seller?
Yes, it became one of the best-selling novels of its time.
Is there a film?
Yes, a 1967 film adaptation exists, though it differs from the book.