''Dolores'' is the final novel of American writer Jacqueline Susann. Published by William Morrow in 1976, it is a '' roman à clef'' based on the life of

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

. It first appeared in the February 1974 issue of the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'', seven months before Susann's death from cancer.

Plot

The beautiful and fashionable Dolores Cortez Ryan is widowed when her husband, U.S. President James Ryan, is gunned down in New Orleans. After a year in seclusion, Dolores takes tentative steps back into the world, by having affairs first with a screenwriter, and then with Barry Haines, an attorney who likes rich women, but doesn't consider Dolores--with just $30,000 a year--quite rich enough. Finally, Dolores agrees to marry a fabulously wealthy shipping tycoon, who leaves her on their wedding night to go to his mistress.

Background

The book, in actuality a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

, is by far the shortest fiction of Susann's career, at just 201 pages. Susann wrote the story for the ''Ladies' Home Journal'', and it was first published in that magazine's February 1974 issue. ''Journal'' editor Lenore Hershey had asked Susann to write a piece about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis ("Jackie S on Jackie O"), but Susann was unwilling to devote her time to research as she was seriously ill with cancer. The ''Journal'' had offered Susann $20,000 for 20,000 words, but the manuscript she turned in was nearly 38,000 words. It was cut by ''Journal'' editors, but the excisions were restored when the story was published in book form. Certain details were changed in the book (for example, in the original story, Dolores's husband, Jimmy Ryan, is felled by a heart attack, not by an assassin's bullet). Rumors that film critic (and friend of Susann) Rex Reed rewrote the work are unsubstantiated. The book is dedicated to the author's mother, Rose Susann (1892-1981).

Reception

As always with Jacqueline Susann's novels, the critics were harsh. A reviewer for ''The New York Times'' wrote, "The novel is a fanzine version of clippings and rumors.... The writing is sluggish and the plot limp." The reading public nonetheless embraced the book: the hardcover spent 25 weeks on the ''New York Times'' best seller list, peaking at #2 for seven consecutive weeks, and becoming the third highest-selling novel of 1976, behind just Leon Uris's '' Trinity'' and

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's final mystery, ''

Sleeping Murder ''Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edit ...

''. ''Publishers Weekly'' list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1970s. (n.d.). In ''Wikipedia''. Retrieved January 3, 2017. The 1978 Bantam edition reached #1 on the ''Times'' paperback list.

References

{{Jacqueline Susann 1976 American novels Novels by Jacqueline Susann Roman à clef novels William Morrow and Company books