With Love, Mommie Dearest, A. Ashley Hoff
With Love, Mommie Dearest, A. Ashley Hoff
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

With Love, Mommie Dearest
The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic

Author: A. Ashley Hoff, Bruce Vilanch

Narrator: Kim Niemi

Unabridged: 10 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/07/2024


Synopsis

When she died in 1977, Joan Crawford was remembered as an icon of Hollywood's Golden Age—until publication the following year of her daughter's memoir, Mommie Dearest.

Christina Crawford's book was an immediate bestseller, addressing the infrequently discussed topic of child abuse.

When Paramount Pictures released the film, starring Faye Dunaway as Crawford, it was critically panned, and remains one of the most legendary critical bombs in film history. The lavish, big-screen adaptation drew unexpected laughter in the scenes depicting life in the Crawford household. Rarely have such good intentions been met with such ridicule.

Despite this, the movie was a commercial success and remains, four decades later, immensely popular. With Love, Mommie Dearest details the writing and selling of Christina's book and the aftermath of its publication, as well as the filming of the motion picture, whose backstage drama almost surpassed what was viewed onscreen in the film.

Based on new interviews with people connected to the book and the film, Hollywood historian A. Ashley Hoff explores the phenomenon, the camp, and the very real social issues addressed by the book and film.

About A. Ashley Hoff

A. Ashley Hoff is the author of Match Game 101: A Backstage History of Match Game and My Huckleberry Friend: Holly Golightly and the Untold History of Breakfast at Tiffany's. He previously worked for talent agencies in Chicago and Los Angeles and has written articles on Hollywood for the Advocate and Films in Review. He has been interviewed on numerous pop culture subjects on The Nick Digilio Show on WGN Radio, The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM, Feast of Fun on iTunes, in magazines such as Closer Weekly, and on various local talk shows and podcasts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by jess

Even though I was born well after Joan Crawford passed away, I grew up with her films and the camp classic Mommie Dearest, thanks to my own mother. Due to this, I was excited to listen to this audiobook and I thoroughly enjoyed this deep dive into the making of this film and ate up all the behind-th......more

Goodreads review by Lois

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by A. Ashley Hoff, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley. Kim Niemi was the narrator of this nonfiction history of the making of this movie and writing of this biography. Her voice is the perfect balance of serious and light. This tale has elemen......more

Goodreads review by Amy

This book was filled with trivia surrounding the book and the making of the film. Did you know about the necklace worth a fortune that mysteriously disappeared on set? Can you imagine the story as a rock opera? Would you have gone to see it? It almost happened. It discussed the views of the children......more

Goodreads review by Jen

I received this for review from the publisher. I simply loved every second of this book. The narrator was great, you could tell she was familiar with the movie when she would reference lines and parts of the movie. I think one of my favorite things about the book is that you not only get tidbits abo......more

Goodreads review by Andrew

BARBARA PLEASE! PLEASE BARBARA! My husband and I love the camp classic film MOMMIE DEAREST. If you’re a fan of the movie MOMMIE DEAREST, then this a perfect companion piece. It’s very detailed, going from start to finish of the film, and has lots of different points of view and information about the......more