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Jean Nathan
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The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright Hardcover – September 2, 2004

by Jean Nathan (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 228 ratings
A glamorous, haunted life unfolds in the mesmerizing biography of the woman behind a classic children's book

In 1957, a children's book called The Lonely Doll was published. With its pink-and-white-checked cover and photographs featuring a wide-eyed doll, it captured the imaginations of young girls and made the author, Dare Wright, a household name.

Close to forty years after its publication, the book was out of print but not forgotten. When the cover image inexplicably came to journalist Jean Nathan one afternoon, she went in search of the book-and ultimately its author. Nathan found Dare Wright living out her last days in a decrepit public hospital in Queens, New York.

Over the next five years, Nathan pieced together a glamorous life. Blond, beautiful Wright had begun her career as an actress and model and then turned to fashion photography before stumbling upon her role as bestselling author. But there was a dark side to the story: a brother lost in childhood, ill-fated marriage plans, a complicated, controlling mother. Edith Stevenson Wright, herself a successful portrait painter, played such a dominant role in her daughter's life that Dare was never able to find her way into the adult world. Only through her work could she speak for herself: in her books she created the happy family she'd always yearned for, while her self-portraits betrayed an unresolved tension between sexuality and innocence, a desire to belong and painful isolation.

Illustrated with stunning photographs, The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, imprisoned by her childhood, sought to set herself free through art.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Henry Holt and Co.
  4. Publication date
    September 2, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    6.36 x 0.92 x 9.58 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0805076123
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0805076127
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most artists lead idiosyncratic existences, but few are stranger than that of Dare Wright, a beautiful and poignantly lost soul. With painstaking resolve, Jean Nathan has captured this elusive creature and, with compassion and empathy, brought her back to life. Her biography of Wright is a haunting tale, skillfully told."
-- Mark Singer, Author of Somewhere in America and staff writer, The New Yorker

"Jean Nathan has given us a haunting portrait of a haunted and heartbreaking creative life. Here is proof, if ever any was needed, that the children's books that last are those born not of lovely thoughts but of childhood's innermost necessities."-Leonard S. Marcus, author of Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon

"Reads like a novel, and a Gothic one at that, full of outsized characters, an evocatively drawn backdrop, and with a strange and compelling mystery at its heart."-Meg Wolitzer, author of The Wife

"A beguiling piece of detective work, which itself makes for a kind of fairy tale."-Stacy Schiff, author of Vera

"Although I never read The Lonely Doll as a child or saw Dare Wright's photographs, it's as if somehow I did. Nathan has done an amazing job to capture Wright's life on the page and to bring us into the household of one of the saddest dysfunctional families ever."-Cindy Sherman

"An evocative, amazing biography."-Jacki Lyden, author of Daughter of the Queen of Sheba

About the Author

Jean Nathan was educated at Williams College and the Columbia School of Journalism. She was a staff writer for The New York Observer and a senior editor at Connoisseur magazine. She has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Travel & Leisure, Vogue, ARTNews, and other publications. She lives in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co.
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 2, 2004
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805076123
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805076127
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.36 x 0.92 x 9.58 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 228 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
228 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this book to be an interesting read with brilliant storytelling and well-researched content, particularly praising its nuanced biography of Dare Wright. Moreover, the writing quality is outstanding, and customers describe it as beautiful, with one noting it's far stranger than any fiction. However, the story receives mixed reactions, with some finding it poignant while others describe it as sad.

Select to learn more

ReadabilityStory qualityDepthAuthor talentBeautyWriting qualityMystery contentHeartbreaking story
27 customers mention "Readability"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and brilliant, with one describing it as thoroughly engrossing.

"I couldn't put the book down it was fascinating! Whether you ever heard of Dare Wright or not I promise this book with spark your interest." Read more

"...is provide us with as much as we'll ever know, leaving us with a compelling, sad, haunting and human story." Read more

"...Good book, wish it wasn't 5:30." Read more

"...Interesting, but not a good one for young readers, that's for sure." Read more

15 customers mention "Story quality"14 positive1 negative

Customers praise the brilliant storytelling and interesting psychological profile of the book, with one customer noting it serves as an excellent cautionary tale for parents.

"...as we'll ever know, leaving us with a compelling, sad, haunting and human story." Read more

"Interesting story. I guess if I had the option to be a spoiled...." Read more

"amazing true story, should be a movie. in the same vein as the "grey gardens". Love this book." Read more

"I couldn't put this down, what a life, so far removed from my own experience. Very well researched and written." Read more

13 customers mention "Depth"13 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's depth, describing it as a well-researched and nuanced biography that provides great detail about Dare's life and family background.

"Jean Nathan has written an excellent and well researched book about a talented and emotionally lost lady...." Read more

"...Very well researched and written." Read more

"...Lace is feminine. With that being said, Nathan wrote a very well-researched book. The strange lives of Dare and her mother were unbelievable...." Read more

"...Wright's strangely twisted family unit, gives a great insight into what forms an artistic mind: perspective." Read more

11 customers mention "Author talent"10 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the author's talent, with one review highlighting their fascinating look into the world of artists, while another notes their best-selling children's author status.

"An exceptional and nuanced biography of a fascinating woman. A very, very special book." Read more

"...I've never known a woman like Dare Wright: beautiful, elegant, talented, childlike. you will enjoy this book" Read more

"...An interesting read! The author did a wonderful job! (PS: the photos are also fascinating!)" Read more

"...was engrossed in this ultimately tragic fairy tale of a unique, talented woman-child who was never allowed to develop into an emotionally mature and..." Read more

8 customers mention "Beauty"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautiful, with one customer noting its feminine lace design.

"...I've never known a woman like Dare Wright: beautiful, elegant, talented, childlike. you will enjoy this book" Read more

"...Dare's life, her ups and downs, and how she decided to write such adorable books...." Read more

"Just fascinating! What an intriguing look into a very odd life of both mother and daughter...." Read more

"...of horrific, at times unbearably sad, but always aware of the mysterious beauty that was born from this wide-eyed, ultimately solitary soul...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as an outstanding and well-written biography.

"...a crushingly real tale of such a tragic creature, Dare, but a wonderfully written book...." Read more

"A well-written biography about the unique life and career of Dare Wright...." Read more

"...A heartbreaking read, but beautifully written." Read more

"...paperback... there's LOTS of photos to accompany the author's outstanding writing.)" Read more

4 customers mention "Mystery content"3 positive1 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery content of the book, with one noting it is far stranger than any fiction.

"Dare Wright was beautiful, talented, gentle, modest, eccentric and mysterious...." Read more

"...To start, it is, to me, fascinating subject matter: the curious and unusual and, to me, creepy children's series, and the enigmatic, beautiful,..." Read more

"This was a very odd book ... not because of the author, but because of the subject matter...." Read more

"Terribly poignant & far stranger than any fiction..." Read more

16 customers mention "Heartbreaking story"10 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the heartbreaking story of the book, with some finding it poignant while others describe it as sad.

"...us with as much as we'll ever know, leaving us with a compelling, sad, haunting and human story." Read more

"...truly haunts, always hovering on the edge of horrific, at times unbearably sad, but always aware of the mysterious beauty that was born from this..." Read more

"...A haunting tale, even if you don't know The Lonely Doll books." Read more

"Good book. Very sad." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Sam
    5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling, sad, haunting and human story
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I loved this book. I'd never read or even heard of "The Lonely Doll" or of Dare Wright when I picked up this biography at a used bookstore coz it looked interesting. And, I'm glad to say, it was. To start, it is, to me, fascinating subject matter: the curious and unusual and, to me, creepy children's series, and the enigmatic, beautiful, self-possessed author. Of course, Dare's reality is different, but that's the point - peeling back the the facade. But what makes the book great is how the author, Jean Nathan, tells it. It's not fancy, overwrought writing - it is that kind of non-fiction book where the author is precise, detailed, smart, eloquent, a good storyteller, but also - importantly - steps out of the way of the material. Nathan includes herself only in the intro (how she came across the subject material is itself compelling) and a bit at the end, but in a clearly demarcated way.

    Some of the more negative reviewers complain that the details seem far-fetched and may not be factual; and, also, that we only get to know Dare from the outside. I agree with both of these, but, rather than finding them to be a fault of the book, rather find them to be *the point* of the book. I have no doubt of the author's journalistic integrity was utterly 100% - she does shrewd and far-ranging detecting, piecing together a story from from other people's accounts and impressions of Dare, and from Dare's own letters and the art itself, which themselves don't necessarily give insight into how she *truly* felt. Thankfully, Nathan spares us any heavy-handed psychologizing of Dare, and lets the reader draw their own conclusion. The point is *no one* really knew Dare. And I believe that, rather than that being a disappointment or a "fault" of the author, it is what is so affecting about the book, and about Dare. What Nathan has done, I feel, is provide us with as much as we'll ever know, leaving us with a compelling, sad, haunting and human story.
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Sturdy Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Compelling Portrait of an Exploited Life
    Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2011
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    I'd been wanting to read this biography for a while because of Wright's work and my interest in women and creativity. Encouraged by both the negative, as well as positive reviews, I dug in at last. I ended up wanting to know even more about Dare Wright's inner life and thoughts. Alas, they were all too squelched as she clung to a mother who defined the essence of toxic and exploitative. Nathan documents their enmeshment clearly and compellingly throughout this book, which to my mind is not psychologizing, as much as showing character through action--the essence of great writing.

    In spite of and perhaps sadly because of this maternal hunger for the spotlight and the resulting relationship (Edie makes Mama Rose look like Mother Theresa), the story of Edith and the Bears emerged from Dare's imagination. Her Lonely Doll tells the story of a blessedly motherless family with a doll who seems as mischievous, impulsive, playful and willful as Dare might have wanted to have been had her mother let her live her own life. Instead, she declines into old age after her mother dies. The nude photos of Dare in the book, which were mostly taken by Edie, the absence of a sex life (although she was a victim of sexual assault in her older years) are shocking only to those readers who demand saints. Dare was neither saint, nor did she have a chance to be a sinner or even seem to know how to be. How sad.

    Nathan's role, as truth-telling Greek chorus and even occasional caregiver by the book's end gives the story even more punch and poignancy. One wonders what Dare's life would have been like if she had had a champion, a mentor, a gal pal who would've stood up to Edie (her brother Blaine tried, but had his own problems). For her, the desire to please, to comply was twisted into servitude--in this case a woman, her mother, not a man is the culprit. Recommended reading to those readers who question how such a relationship can exist, and who do want to delve into the psychology of this kind of relationship: 1) Phyllis Chesler's Woman's Inhumanity to Woman and 2) Christine Lawson's Borderline Mother. That Nathan gives voice to this remarkable human being and shares her life as well as her achievements with us is a tribute to her subject. And again, quite readable.
    10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating biography very well researched
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book is so fascinating. I’ve bought it twice as my first copy is still doing the rounds amongst friend!
    Report
  • Bill Lee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great condition
    Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    As advertised, great condition and good price.
    Report
  • Mark Wright
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2015
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Gift for a friend - she very much enjoyed it, being a fan of the author.
    Report