Bell Harbour Press Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript

"Perhaps the most unbelievable note I ever received backstage was between the second and third act of [the opera] Romeo and Juliet. It read: 'Please sing "The Indian Love Call" during the next intermission.'" So writes Jeanette MacDonald in her unpublished autobiography. This book tells the fascinating story of that ill-fated project and includes an incomplete, unpolished edition dating from summer 1960. Written in collaboration with movie magazine writer Fredda Dudley Balling, the typewritten manuscript has Jeanette's hand-written comments and corrections all over it. She crossed out certain sensitive passages and entire pages but the full manuscript is reproduced so that today's reader can experience it uncensored. How much did the beloved MGM singing star reveal? Did she tell the truth about her life? Her career? Her purported first marriage to Bob Ritchie? Her Hollywood marriage to Gene Raymond? Her romance with co-star Nelson Eddy? What did Balling think of their collaboration...and the final book? Why did Jeanette need a ghost writer and why was this mysterious book never published? MacDonald biographer Sharon Rich answers these questions. She has fully annotated the manuscript, providing reality checks, extensive background data and tragic new information about Jeanette's final years. Also included is Fredda Balling's correspondence about the project and working with MacDonald. The book includes a filmography, photos and a rare color picture gallery.