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The Only Woman in the Room is an historical fiction novel about the legendary actress, Hedy Lamarr, who was much more than a beautiful face – she also invented a torpedo guidance system. Lamarr’s story is fascinating, but I’m not quite sure this novel did it complete justice.
If you haven’t heard of Hedy Lamarr, she was a well-known movie star who acted in many movies from the late 1930s through the mid-1950s. Her most famous role was as Delilah in Samson and Delilah. She was known for her great beauty.
Source: Pixabay
Here’s a quick summary of The Only Woman in the Room: Lamarr was born in Austria in 1914 to prominent Jewish parents and came of age when Hitler was coming to power, which shaped the rest of her life. At nineteen, she married a wealthy munitions mogul named Fritz Mandl, nicknamed The Merchant of Death. Through the social events her husband hosted, she was introduced to many political figures, including Mussolini, and privy to confidential conversations. One of the last conversations she overheard was Hitler speaking about eliminating Jews from German society. During this time, she also developed an interest in the technical side of her husband’s munitions business.
She fled her marriage in 1937 because her husband was an abusive control freak. She was discovered in London by Louis B. Mayer and signed a lucrative contract with MGM studios. In Hollywood, she acted in a lot of movies and ran through a lot of men. She also socialized with other European-born actors, who shared news from their homeland. She felt tremendous guilt for not telling the world about Hitler’s plan for the Jews. This guilt provided at least partial motivation for Hedy to design the torpedo guidance system, which was initially rejected by the military but later adopted.
I had a mixed reaction to this book. Hedy is the narrator, which is sometimes awkward, especially when she is talking about her own great beauty. And I’m a little uncomfortable with historical fiction where real people are characters because all the dialog and the characters’ thoughts are completely made up, which makes me wonder about the accuracy of the facts. And, in fact, there was at least one significant factual error – the novel represented that she adopted her first son, James, who was supposedly a European Jewish orphan. In fact, James was her biological son.
I also wish the book had spent more time on her Hollywood life and how she came to be an inventor. The first half of the book is all about her first marriage to Fritz Mandl. She lived an opulent lifestyle, but her husband mostly treated her like a beautiful, caged bird. I must admit, this part was highly readable, kind of like old episodes of Dynasty are highly watchable – the drama and wealth pull you in. But the second half of the book, which was about her first several years in Hollywood, seemed a little rushed.
Here’s the deal – despite its flaws, I mostly enjoyed The Only Woman in the Room. It’s light and entertaining reading and really piqued my curiosity about Hedy Lamarr. A beautiful Hollywood actress that invented a torpedo guidance system is quite a unicorn. If you read it, just don’t take it as pure history.
If you’ve read The Only Woman in the Room, what did you think? And how do you feel about historical fiction that uses real historical figures?
Book Thoughts from Bed 
I have loved every book I’ve read by Marie Benedict, though this one sounds a bit less interesting than her other books. I’ll probably still read it, though your mixed thoughts about the book make me not want to prioritize it.
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Thanks for commenting! If you do read it, please come back and tell me what you thought. I’d love to hear your opinion!
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Thanks for the review, though it left me more interested in Hedy Lamar than this actual book! Women with both beauty and brains really fascinate me – and it sure sounds like she had both in spades. Wow!
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Hi Martha! If you want to learn more about her, there’s a PBS special. I haven’t watched it yet but since PBS made it I’m sure it’s good.
https://www.pbs.org/video/bombshell-the-hedy-lamarr-story-xxkyoj/
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So glad you reviewed this! I felt similarly about the balance in the book between Hedy’s marriage and her Hollywood life. And I loved your DYNASTY comparison–perfect! I’m a fan of Marie Benedict but this was not one of my top faves. I liked CARNEGIE”S MAID, LADY CLEMENTINE, and THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE more, and I’m enjoying THE ENGINEER’S WIFE now.
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Hey Al! Glad to see you’re continuing to read more fiction. 🙂 I’m interested in reading the book about Agatha Christe. Thanks for recommending it!
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I enjoyed reading this book. The critical reviews are a little caustic in my opinion. It is historical fiction for sure, but the book lends itself to good book.club discussion. Marie Benedict prices the interest in the women she admires. Certainly the book is not classic writing or too of any reading list, but it is stimulating information about a uniqie, beautiful, intelligent woman!
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Hi Jim! I didn’t mean to be overly caustic. I probably need to work on how I present criticism. I can see how this would be a good book club read – there’s a lot to talk about! Thanks for commenting!
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I’m just finding your blog after just listening to “the Secret Keeper” by Kate Morton and feeling the urge to discuss it! Best book I’ve read in a long time and I found the 17 disc, 20 hour CD in a thrift store bargain bin… fabulous!
Funny thing is, I set aside “Only Woman in the Room” before I completed it (which is rare, for me) at chapter 38, just 50 pages short of finishing. I read your review and agreed completely… that was my same reflection, it felt rushed and like a different story (writer) than the well fleshed out first part of the book taking place in Austria.
I’m happy to connect & see your list of recommended books and plan to put them on my list. Thank you! I’ve tried a year of Book of the Month Club and haven’t been too excited with my picks, however, I did enjoy March “Too Good to be True” by Carla Lovering. I bought (and loved) “Big Lies in a Small Town” by Diane Chamberlin, after hearing an interview with her and highly recommend that one.
Here’s to Summer!
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Hi Kristin! Thanks for commenting! Wow – 17 discs!! I really liked The Secret Keeper – such good writing and I loved being surprised at the end. Were you surprised, too? Thanks for the book recommendations. I’ll be sure to check them out. Hope your summer is full of good reads!!
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I think I share your feelings about historical fiction about real people – it seems like maybe just writing a non-fiction book would be better? I find Hedy Lamarr fascinating!
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Hi Rachel! Thanks for commenting! I love historical fiction, but when authors use real people it feels a little like fake history (a cousin of fake news :)). And, yes, Hedy Lamarr was so interesting. I’m glad Marie Benedict brought renewed attention to her.
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