Customer Reviews

Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair -- On-Screen and Off -- Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, updated edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The love affair between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy was one of Hollywood's best kept secrets but now everyone can learn the truth. For some reason many people refuse to believe that Nelson and Jeanette had a real life love affair. I have been a devoted Nelson and Jeanette for many years, I have read all the books, and I do believe they were in love. I'm sure there are some things in this book that aren't accurate but most of the information comes from Jeanette's sister who had no reason to lie. This book provides so many details about their relationship that it would be almost impossible to make it all up. If the stories in this book weren't true then why didn't Jeanette's widow, Gene Raymond, sue the author for slander? I am so glad Sharon Rich decided to write this book. She gets criticized a lot but if you read this book you will see she is just a fan who wants to share their story with the world.

Sweethearts will appeal most to those who are already devoted fans of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The book will also prove to be fascinating reading for those who like to read about doomed romances. I also hope that some young people will read this book and learn important lessons about life and love.

The strength of this book is in Ms. Rich's exhaustive research into the written and oral sources concerning Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy to display their covert relationship. Ms. Rich interviewed more than 200 people who were close to the stars and read many hither-to-unpublished sources to fill in the blanks.

With evidence coming from so many sources, this book is clearly based on fire as well as smoke . . . as opposed to the usual expose by a tabloid newspaper or a dirt-digging author. Ms. Rich also takes a fan's view and does a fine job of describing the artistic parts of the two stars' lives.

Here are the basic facts of the romance as described in the book. Nelson Eddy was blessed with a wonderful voice and good looks while held back by an immature personality. Jeanette MacDonald was an established movie star when she first saw Eddy and was powerfully attracted. Although their initial movie work was fraught with tension, they did finally fall for one another in real life. But the studio didn't want that because it might harm the box office appeal of their successful pictures. Eddy demanded that MacDonald give up her career to be a wife and mother. MacDonald didn't want to because her career was the center of her life. So they didn't marry. On the rebound, MacDonald married a man who reminded her of Eddy . . . but who turned out to be bisexual (with a stronger preference for men). Shocked by finding that out, the marriage didn't really take. Eddy, in his turn, managed to be blackmailed into marrying a woman he didn't like. Escaping these poor marriage choices, MacDonald and Eddy slipped in and out of intimacy for many years . . . including several pregnancies. Eddy and MacDonald weren't willing to go through divorces at the same time . . . although they continually talked about it. So they mostly spent stolen moments together when they were supposed to be doing something else. Their ups and downs were also influenced by Eddy's inclination to be attracted to more than one woman.

Ms. Rich does a fine job of providing biographies of both stars, a history of their film work as well as her love story of their romance. It's a fine, balanced work that I highly recommend to those who find these subjects appealing. You will be especially delighted to read extensive writings by the people involved.

Having said so many nice things about the book, you may be wondering about the four-star rating.

I decided to grade the book down for three reasons . . . none of which may bother you. If these reasons don't bother you, I suggest you think of this as a five-star book . . . as many people do and will.

First, the book contains more detail than I really wanted to know. I would have liked the book better if it was about 30% shorter.

Second, the reproduction quality of the photographs is usually poor. Although I enjoyed seeing the photographs, I found them disappointing in most cases because of the printing quality.

Third, the book needed more editing. This is an updated edition, but it contains a lot of typos that any word processing program would have caught. In addition, many of the extensive quotes should have been shortened down to their nub . . . for greater impact.

I have not read any other books about these two stars so I cannot compare the work to what else is available. But due to the extensive research and unique access to many of the witnesses, I find it hard to imagine that a more authentic book exists on this subject.

When you read this book, I also suggest that you arrange to view some of the films that are described in the book. Consider Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts as your choices.

May you and your sweetheart live more happily ever after than Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy did!

I read both the first edition and most recent edition of Sweethearts. The first time I read it I thought it was very interesting. The second time I read it I had my doubts although I thought parts of it had to be true. I then read the newest edition and must say I think perhaps at least 85-90% of the book must be true. Most other books go over board to disprove the affair, however, Sharon Rich does have a lot of documentation. One thing that surpised me was the first book had a lot of mistakes in the words and thought the second edition would have been proof read better but it also had many mistakes. Watching some of the movies with Jeanette and Nelson did show them at different emotional stages, as the book suggest, however seems to be a stretch at times to read the same emotions as Rich suggest. There certainly was someting between them that they didn't have with other co stars and the fact that they can not seem to be separated even in the publics eye after all these years. At anyrate I obviously did enjoy the book if I read it 3 times.

Without a doubt, this book is fascinating. Well written and worth several reads, my only disappointment was the sadness of their passions being coerced when each married another.

We can only presume that MGM icons feared great financial losses at the box office if the two had married. Their magic on screen, maybe, was threatened if they'd validated their love in private matrimony.

The book is tenderly poignant, a vicarious experience. Each died too young - in their 60s. We appreciate the drama of two talented beautiful people living a fantasy. Only in 1930/1940 Hollywood could it be so compelling.....

Despite a truly annoying tendency to take EVERYTHING as "Truth" instead of possiblities/probabilities (making the real truths seem less credible as a result), this is the only book about either star which makes any attempt to show the two as human beings. Furthermore, it is not marred by unspeakably poor quality "writing" or self-serving intellectual posturing. It is also written by someone who actually likes both stars and is an expert about BOTH their careers, both seperately AND apart. I by no means believe everything which is written in this book. It is also not particularly analytical about their films. Nevertheless, this is the "alternative" Jeanette and Nelson, and it is worth taking these claims into consideration at least. This "updated" edition is a genuine improvement upon the first.

As a collector of old movies(I have 2200), I was loathe to get their movies because of all the parodies and, quite frankly I never figured there was anything much to them. I was flipping channels one night and stopped on Maytime, Jeanette and Nelson's third film together. I was entranced. Not by the plot...never by that. But by the fact that I could see that there was much more to these two than met the eye. This book brings all that out and more. Almost voyeuristic in its descriptions, very often melodramatic(what else? we are talking about actors) and extremely painful, it gives us an insight into how yesterday's studio system could build an actor and kill a person. I took my films and watched them with the chapters to see if I could tell what was going on behind the scenes while I watched. A wordy book when it comes to their individual careers, it more than makes up for it with the sections they spend agonizing over each other. Finally, with all of the sources, it is easily believable which makes it all the more enjoyable.

I was only a child, a very young child,perhaps six or seven, when I first saw the Jeanette Macdonald and Nelson Eddy movie, Naughty Marietta. Although i didn't understand the film's plot, I was enchanted by the two stars. When I recently saw the movie again, I understood why I was so enchanted as a child. The love between Jeanette and Nelson as they sang was transmitted right into the audience and into the heart of that six or seven-year child. I was orphaned soon after and suffered many years in an abusive family, but the emotional memory of that film was like an inner candle helping me to survive and remember that there is such a thing as love.

This book is so well documented with names, dates, and places. It is hard not to believe after seeing the MacDonald/Eddy movies over and over again. Since I have been a Mac/Eddy fan for a very long time, this book satisfied my own perception of these two wonderful people and their relationship. The book is a remarkable memorial to them.

this book was bought as a gift for my mum and next to her videos of this couple is her all time favourite book.she was amazed at how much in love they were and the history of their lives.now my sister and myself can't wait to read it,so all in all i think it was one of my better buys thanks to the author who seems to have gone into great detail.

I enjoyed reading this book very much...and it rings true with documentation to prove it. It was enjoyable to read..as I have been a fan of Jeanette and Nelson for years and own 7 of their movies.