Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman
This female Mad Men-like story chronicles the legendary Cosmopolitan magazine editor’s rise to power as both a cultural icon and trailblazer who redefined what it means to be an American woman.

“Engaging…. Nimble-footed…. Amusing….Throughout, Hauser weaves in passages connecting Brown to her contemporaries and the cultural landscape of the 1960s…[to] situate her life in the context of its times.” — New York Times Book Review

In the mid-Sixties, Helen Gurley Brown, author of the groundbreaking Sex and the Single Girl, took over the ailing Cosmopolitan magazine and revamped it into one of the most successful brands in the world. At a time when magazines taught housewives how to make the perfect casserole, Helen reimagined Cosmo and womanhood itself, championing the independent, ambitious single woman. Though she was married, to Hollywood producer David Brown, no one embodied the idea of the Cosmo Girl more than the Ozarks-born Helen, who willed, worked, and—maybe—occasionally slept her way to the top, eventually becoming one of the most influential media players in the world.

Drawing on new interviews with Helen’s friends and former colleagues as well as her personal letters, Enter Helen brings New York City vibrantly to life during the Sexual Revolution and the Women’s Movement and features a cast of characters including Hugh Hefner, Nora Ephron, and Gloria Steinem. It is the cinematic story of an icon who bucked convention, defined her own destiny, and became a controversial model for modern feminism, laying the groundwork for television shows like Sex and the City and Girls.

“Bad feminist” or not, Helen Gurley Brown got people talking—about sex, work, reproductive choices, and having it all—forever changing the conversation.

1121369486
Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman
This female Mad Men-like story chronicles the legendary Cosmopolitan magazine editor’s rise to power as both a cultural icon and trailblazer who redefined what it means to be an American woman.

“Engaging…. Nimble-footed…. Amusing….Throughout, Hauser weaves in passages connecting Brown to her contemporaries and the cultural landscape of the 1960s…[to] situate her life in the context of its times.” — New York Times Book Review

In the mid-Sixties, Helen Gurley Brown, author of the groundbreaking Sex and the Single Girl, took over the ailing Cosmopolitan magazine and revamped it into one of the most successful brands in the world. At a time when magazines taught housewives how to make the perfect casserole, Helen reimagined Cosmo and womanhood itself, championing the independent, ambitious single woman. Though she was married, to Hollywood producer David Brown, no one embodied the idea of the Cosmo Girl more than the Ozarks-born Helen, who willed, worked, and—maybe—occasionally slept her way to the top, eventually becoming one of the most influential media players in the world.

Drawing on new interviews with Helen’s friends and former colleagues as well as her personal letters, Enter Helen brings New York City vibrantly to life during the Sexual Revolution and the Women’s Movement and features a cast of characters including Hugh Hefner, Nora Ephron, and Gloria Steinem. It is the cinematic story of an icon who bucked convention, defined her own destiny, and became a controversial model for modern feminism, laying the groundwork for television shows like Sex and the City and Girls.

“Bad feminist” or not, Helen Gurley Brown got people talking—about sex, work, reproductive choices, and having it all—forever changing the conversation.

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Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman

Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman

by Brooke Hauser
Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman

Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman

by Brooke Hauser

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Overview

This female Mad Men-like story chronicles the legendary Cosmopolitan magazine editor’s rise to power as both a cultural icon and trailblazer who redefined what it means to be an American woman.

“Engaging…. Nimble-footed…. Amusing….Throughout, Hauser weaves in passages connecting Brown to her contemporaries and the cultural landscape of the 1960s…[to] situate her life in the context of its times.” — New York Times Book Review

In the mid-Sixties, Helen Gurley Brown, author of the groundbreaking Sex and the Single Girl, took over the ailing Cosmopolitan magazine and revamped it into one of the most successful brands in the world. At a time when magazines taught housewives how to make the perfect casserole, Helen reimagined Cosmo and womanhood itself, championing the independent, ambitious single woman. Though she was married, to Hollywood producer David Brown, no one embodied the idea of the Cosmo Girl more than the Ozarks-born Helen, who willed, worked, and—maybe—occasionally slept her way to the top, eventually becoming one of the most influential media players in the world.

Drawing on new interviews with Helen’s friends and former colleagues as well as her personal letters, Enter Helen brings New York City vibrantly to life during the Sexual Revolution and the Women’s Movement and features a cast of characters including Hugh Hefner, Nora Ephron, and Gloria Steinem. It is the cinematic story of an icon who bucked convention, defined her own destiny, and became a controversial model for modern feminism, laying the groundwork for television shows like Sex and the City and Girls.

“Bad feminist” or not, Helen Gurley Brown got people talking—about sex, work, reproductive choices, and having it all—forever changing the conversation.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062342676
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 04/18/2017
Pages: 496
Product dimensions: 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.12(d)

About the Author

Brooke Hauser has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Allure, and Parade, among other publications. She is the author of The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens, a winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award. She lives in western Massachusetts with her family and has taught nonfiction writing at Smith College.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 Real Estate 5

2 Ground Rules 13

3 Sex and the Not-So-Single Girl 16

4 The Story Editor 25

5 A Fun Scam 34

6 Single Women of the World, Unite! 39

7 The Decline of Western Civilization 46

8 Something's Got to Give 55

9 The Working Girl's Friend 67

10 New York, New York 75

11 The Meaning of Lunch 82

12 A Strange Stirring 89

13 Women Alone 98

14 Peace Through Understanding 107

15 In the Mail 115

16 Femme 121

17 For the Girl with a Job 132

18 The Most Exciting Woman in the World 135

19 The July Issue 144

20 Techniques 155

21 Pippy-Poo Copy 161

22 Daddy's Little Girl 166

21 Going West 178

24 Good Time Gurley 185

25 Turning Points 195

26 Self-Portrait 200

27 Parlour Games 206

28 James Bond on a Budget 213

29 Mr. Right Is Dead 219

30 That Cosmopolitan Girl 224

31 The Iron Butterfly 230

32 Resolutions 233

33 The 92 Percent 242

34 Nobody over Thirty 252

35 The World's Most Beautiful Byline 261

36 Fake Pictures 269

37 The Actress 275

38 A Groovy Day on the Boardwalk 283

39 Before and After 288

40 A Viper in the Nest 293

41 Women in Revolt 300

42 The Strike 308

43 Pitiful People 317

44 Some Notes on a New Magazine… 324

45 Enter Helen 330

46 The Blue Goddess 333

47 Cosmopolitan Nude Man 339

48 Problems 348

49 Two Faces of the Same Eve 351

50 ERA and You 359

51 Having It All 367

Epilogue 375

Acknowledgments 391

Notes 395

Index 447

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