Valley of the Dolls

Excitedly, Jennifer contacts Anne to say she is coming to New York and must tell her about the man who has come into her life. Though she is a successful actress with a new agent, the most important thing in Jennifer’s life is having met Senator Winston Adams, a widower in his 50s who, she says, loves her for herself. Giddily, she says, “Oh, girlfriend, isn’t it wonderful! We both wound up at the top, with success, security and a man we love and respect” (340). Having kept their affair quiet at first, Jennifer and Winston go out on the town with Anne and Kevin to announce that they are engaged.

Jennifer asks Anne to help her acquire her trousseau for the wedding. As they shop, Jennifer is struck with severe abdominal pain. She acknowledges she has not been to the doctor in some time. Anne takes her to a gynecologist, who diagnoses Jennifer with polyps that will be removed. During the procedure, the doctor discovers that Jennifer has a walnut-sized lump in one of her breasts and performs a biopsy. When she wakes, he informs her that she has metastatic breast cancer, and she must have her breast removed the next day. Anne attempts to console her, saying that many people go through a mastectomy and do quite well.

When Winston, who does not know Jennifer has breast cancer, arrives to see her, he inadvertently reveals that what he loves most about Jennifer are her breasts. Jennifer does not share her diagnosis and instead sneaks out of the hospital and takes an overdose of dolls, leaving suicide notes for Winston and Anne.

After Jennifer’s death, Neely returns from Spain to New York and asks Anne why Jennifer would do something so drastic. Neely then disappears to make a record but returns weeks later, desperately saying she has lost her voice. Soon, she binges on alcohol and pills again. When Kevin and Anne leave the apartment for lunch one day, Neely takes all the pills she has, combines them with liquor, and cuts her wrist with a shard of broken glass. She does not want to die, but she tries to make it look like a suicide attempt. When the cut bleeds far more than she intended, she calls the telephone operator and asks for help.

Neely wakes in the hospital with Kevin and Anne in the room. They discuss the fact that Neely needs some real help. Anne mentions the sleep cure that Jennifer took, and Kevin finds a private mental health facility that says it can offer this treatment. Once they deliver Neely to the hospital and the staff takes her away for treatment, the psychiatrist informs Anne that Neely needs prolonged psychotherapy that will take at least a year. This means Anne must commit her. If she does not, a team of doctors will pursue commitment. He explains:

If our psychiatrists agree that she needs further treatment, we will present the case in court. […] [T]he court commits her for three months—and every three months she is automatically committed again. We often do this […] It takes the feeling of guilt away from relatives and friends (362).

Anne decides that Neely must stay so she can turn her life around. Because Neely has gone through all her money and must pay $1,500 a month to stay in the hospital, Anne decides she will pay for her care. Kevin realizes this means that their marriage and honeymoon will be delayed.

Neely, who assumes she is only going to be in the hospital for a week, gradually comes to understand that she is a captive patient. When the nurses ask Neely to follow their treatment regimen, she replies, “I don’t follow rules. I make the rules! I’m Neely O’Hara” (366). She struggles against the staff despite warnings from other patients that fighting treatment will extend her commitment. Neely learns that she is in the treatment building reserved for the most difficult patients. She must spend a month there and, with good behavior, earn her way through a series of other dormitories until she gets to the point of partial release. Finally, she grasps this will take many months.

As Neely goes through treatment, Anne visits her every week. She watches as Neely makes progress, then has a setback when she gets ahold of some dolls and relapses. Kevin, who had been intending to travel the world with Anne as his new bride, deeply resents Neely, though he believes his relationship with Anne is secure.

Then Lyon Burke appears at the studio where Anne is rehearsing commercials. Lyon introduces himself to Kevin and speaks to Anne. Anne makes a date to have supper with him the next day, which bothers both her and Kevin, though he does not try to stop her. Over the meal, Lyon and Anne discuss what has happened in the 15 years since he left. As the meal comes to an end, each expresses the desire to make love to the other, and they go back to Lyon’s room immediately. Afterward, they reflect on what happened and what it means, particularly for Anne’s relationship with Kevin. When she goes home that evening, Kevin is waiting for her. He castigates her, recognizing that she has had sex with Lyon. He begs her not to leave him, and she promises that she will not see Lyon again.

Anne goes for two weeks without contacting Lyon. One night, when they are eating at a club, Kevin and Anne see Lyon come in with a very beautiful, very young woman. When they get home, Kevin once again berates her about her feelings for Lyon. In the dramatic argument, Kevin calls Lyon and hands the phone to Anne. He insists that Anne say she wants to come to his room now, thinking that Lyon will say no because the young woman is with him. When Lyon invites Anne to come over, she leaves Kevin and goes to him.

At the hotel room, Kevin calls and begs Anne to come back to him. She promises she will and hangs up. After she and Lyon discuss their feelings, she walks the three blocks back to Kevin’s apartment. She stands outside, deciding where she wants to be, and realizes she wants to be with Lyon. She runs back to his hotel, and they fall into each other’s arms. The next day, when she tells Kevin that she is in love with Lyon, he does his best to tear her down and ruin her career, something the board of his company will not allow.

Anne wonders how to keep Lyon in America since he wants to go back to England. Anne visits Neely in the sanitarium, and Neely suggests that Henry’s company hire Lyon and make him her agent because she is about to be released. Anne persuades Henry to make this offer. She provides the financial backing to make it work and keeps it a secret from Lyon. Henry’s other partner, George Bellows, persuades Lyon to take on Neely as his client, though he is extremely reluctant because he doesn’t believe she will be able to mount a comeback.

Anne and Lyon marry, and soon, Anne finds that she is pregnant. They go to Neely’s first concert, and though the audience is surprised that she has gained a great deal of weight, they are very receptive to her music, and she performs wonderfully.

To capitalize on Neely’s growing popularity, George and Lyon decide she must tour, beginning with a trip to California. Neely refuses to travel unless Lyon goes with her to pave the way. This results in Anne being left at home as the birth of their child approaches. The baby, Jennifer Burke, arrives on New Year’s Day, while Lyon is in California leading Neely in a triumphant, resurgent career. For the next several months, Lyon rarely comes home and stays briefly. Soon, Neely’s youthful figure returns along with her voice, and rumors surface that Lyon and Neely are having an affair. Troubled by this, Anne consults with Henry about what to do. He advises her to act as if she knows nothing and the affair is not taking place. He says, “You just have to figure out what means the most to you, Lyon or your pride” (441).

As Neely’s popularity ascends, her entitled attitude reemerges, and she believes that she can order Lyon about like a servant. When Lyon brings on a new client, Margie Parks, Neely overdoses in a fit of jealousy, and Lyon goes to her immediately. Neely tells him that she is the most important person in his agency and when she calls for him, he must always come. He walks away from her and convinces George that the agency must drop her immediately.

On New Year’s Day 1965, Jennifer Burke’s second birthday, Anne and Lyon throw a party. Weary and wanting some rest, Anne lies across her bed in the darkened bedroom. She hears Lyon and Margie enter the room, kiss, discuss their affair, and then walk back out. Anne understands this will always be Lyon’s way, and over time, the love she feels for him will simply come to an end. To help her sleep, she takes two red dolls.