The Carpetbaggers
by Harold Robbins
After watching the soapy, steamy 1965 film The Carpetbaggers, I was anxious to get my hands on the original novel. I could only imagine how Peyton Place-esque it would be – or so I thought at the time. I had no idea just how scandalous the book would actually be; keep this book away from your daughters until they’ve had a few serious boyfriends, or else they might get ideas!
Needless to say, the movie version really cleaned things up. Yes, Carroll Baker pranced around in see-through black lingerie while trying to seduce her stepson, but that wasn’t even one-fourth of the drama of her written character. The Carpetbaggers is much more on par with Princess Daisy than Peyton Place. There are massive amounts of incest, lesbianism, kinky sex, and unplanned pregnancies. And, given that the protagonist of the novel is a very callous, self-centered man who has little-to-no emotional affection for women, you should be prepared that the novel doesn’t take a sympathetic tone towards these “fallen” ladies. The book was very obviously written by a man, so modern feminists will absolutely hate it. Personally, I enjoyed the change of tone from the usual books I read. I found parts of it funny, parts shocking, and parts purposely dramatic.
This long soap opera is sectioned off by character, and I got really immersed in each one’s world. Some were cut out of the movie, but the Nevada Smith character was actually given his own separate movie because audiences found him so interesting! The Rina Marlowe character was obviously supposed to be a copy of Jean Harlow, but really only in name and appearance only. Harlow’s real life was incredibly tame, and she wouldn’t have even imagined half of what Marlowe did. If you like really dramatic, old books that were probably banned in some states, check this one out. I’ve already purchased another Harold Robbins novel, The Betsey.
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1964 film adaptation here!
Needless to say, the movie version really cleaned things up. Yes, Carroll Baker pranced around in see-through black lingerie while trying to seduce her stepson, but that wasn’t even one-fourth of the drama of her written character. The Carpetbaggers is much more on par with Princess Daisy than Peyton Place. There are massive amounts of incest, lesbianism, kinky sex, and unplanned pregnancies. And, given that the protagonist of the novel is a very callous, self-centered man who has little-to-no emotional affection for women, you should be prepared that the novel doesn’t take a sympathetic tone towards these “fallen” ladies. The book was very obviously written by a man, so modern feminists will absolutely hate it. Personally, I enjoyed the change of tone from the usual books I read. I found parts of it funny, parts shocking, and parts purposely dramatic.
This long soap opera is sectioned off by character, and I got really immersed in each one’s world. Some were cut out of the movie, but the Nevada Smith character was actually given his own separate movie because audiences found him so interesting! The Rina Marlowe character was obviously supposed to be a copy of Jean Harlow, but really only in name and appearance only. Harlow’s real life was incredibly tame, and she wouldn’t have even imagined half of what Marlowe did. If you like really dramatic, old books that were probably banned in some states, check this one out. I’ve already purchased another Harold Robbins novel, The Betsey.
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1964 film adaptation here!