13 results for "Novel"

A Stone for Danny Fisher

Harold Robbins
"A Stone for Danny Fisher" is an early masterpiece by Harold Robbins, who went on to become one of the most popular and most financially successful writers of all time. The early part of this book seems to be almost autobiographical, as Harold Robbins himself grew up as a poor Jewish boy who first went to work at age 15 to support his family and then held numerous low level jobs until he found his true calling as a millionaire writer and movie producer. A Stone for Danny Fischer is now most famous for being made into a 1958 movie starring Elvis Presley. The movie is entitled "King Carole" and all critics agree that this is by far the greatest acting performance by Elvis. Elvis has to play a complex and conflicted character, quite unlike the typical Elvis movies where Elvis sings while a bevy of girls swoon over him. Few novelists know the seamy side of New York as well as Harold Robins - the terror of the streets, the ways to make a shady buck by playing along with gamblers and mobsters, the unbridled lusts and passions of slum life. But his new hero does not start at the bottom. Instead, Danny Fischer, born into a family of modest means and respectability is gradually driven downward into the world of crime racketeering and poverty. His bitterness, his loneliness over the loss of the house in Brooklyn that was given to him for his eighth birthday, and his feud with his harsh father pull him one way, his natural decency and love for a sweet Italian girl, Nellie Petito, pull him another. Danny might have been one of the boys caught in the recent basketball scandal, though actually he is a boxer - a sensational amateur and potential champ. Later he becomes deeply involved in war time black markets and then in vending-machine rackets. Here Mr. Robbins reveals a little-known side of underworld life. But the driving force behind Danny's actions always is his sustaining love for Nellie. In a story that is harsh and yet tender, realistic and yet compassionate, Robbins reveals what makes the Danny Fishers what they are.
Ishi Press International 2011-12 426 pages

The Inheritors

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 bestselling novel The Carpetbaggers comes a powerful yarn exposing the money, fame, sex, politics, and power that accompany being at the top of the entertainment industry.... Based on the real lives of network executives and other high-profile personalities in the early days when television first became a viable threat to the all-powerful business of the silver screen, The Inheritors is the first in Harold Robbins's "Trilogy of Greed," and spent 21 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Steve Gaunt, the rebellious visionary, is the head of a successful television empire, making him a hit, both in the ratings and with the gorgeous women he meets. Sam Benjamin, one of the last of the old motion picture tycoons, desperately wants to hold on to the power that has long been associated with the more "glamorous" part of the business--the movies. When the two combine forces, they have the potential to remake the entertainment industry--or be each other's undoing. Will their friendship fall apart when their money is on the line, or will their partnership make them even more wealthy and powerful? Entertainment is a dirty business, built by ruthless mavericks, and friendships can fall in a heartbeat when money is on the line. The only rule is that nothing is real in Hollywood. In its initial publication, The Inheritors was a timely indictment of an industry on fire. Today, it is a fascinating look back at a time when television was just coming into its own, and how the movie industry dealt with this new and growing threat.
Oghma Creative Media 2019-11-19 400 pages

The Adventurers

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 best-selling novel The Carpetbaggers comes a tale of violence, sex, betrayal, revenge and intrigue. The Adventurers is a story of revolution and danger in the sultry jungles of South America.As a young boy, Diogenes Alejandro Xenos (¿Dax¿) witnesses the brutal rape and murder of his mother and sister by government troops¿experiencing the drama of revolution, loss, and tragedy firsthand. He is sent to Europe by the victorious rebel leader to rebuild his country¿s diplomatic and financial status post-revolution, and is immediately thrown into the elite environment of Europe¿s jet set society of international bankers and diplomats.Outwardly, Dax lives a life of privilege as one of the continent¿s most sought-after, hedonistic playboys¿wanted by men and women alike, but for very different reasons. Inside, however, he channels his fear, anger and hatred for the new regime, which he realizes is as corrupt as the old, into a desire to disrupt the status quo. Once a favorite of the general-turned-dictator, Dax quickly becomes an outlaw in his own country, living on the fringes of society as a rebel hell-bent on a new revolution.This epic tale of escape from the horrors of a third world regime is one of Harold Robbins' most ambitious novels ever, combining his trademark sensuality with political intrigue, a globe-spanning variety of exotic locales, and themes that never seem to change¿political intrigue, greed, power, money, violence, sex and betrayal.With Dax Xenos, Robbins thrills and excites us with one of his most memorable and intriguing characters¿a flawed and complicated hero.The Adventurers was one of Robbins¿ most successful novels, spending 41 weeks on The New York Times best sellers list. Today, this novel easily proves that Robbins¿ compelling prose still has the power to surprise, titillate, and move readers.
Oghma Creative Media 2018-05-15 860 pages

Goodbye, Janette

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 bestselling novel The Carpetbaggers comes an unstoppable, mesmeric tale of fame, power, sexuality, and betrayal in the cutthroat world of haute couture... A dynasty of women triumphs in the fiercely male-dominated world of high fashion amid the ruins of war. A daughter honors her mother's ultimate sacrifice-by becoming a ruthless businesswoman who will stop at nothing to raise high her family's name. Another daughter seeks to flee the toxic legacy of her family and live in peace. And both daughters have a date with destiny in a vault filled with Nazi gold... treasure that will alter the course of both their lives.... Epic and intimate, moving from the icy nighttime streets of the Nazi occupation to the decadent beaches of St. Tropez, from the showrooms of Manhattan to the runways of Paris, Goodbye, Janette is a hypnotically gripping, mythic family saga of the power of blood to bind, to oppress, and finally to set free. Full of the shocking U-turns and unexpected revelations that make Harold Robbins a master storyteller, Goodbye, Janette transports the reader to a chic, dreamlike world where everyone wants an all-access pass... but the penalties for staying may be severe. Goodbye, Janette is a late masterpiece by Harold Robbins, America's most commercially successful and era-defining author of pulp fiction. The creator of erotic and ferocious turbocharged narratives of the soul-stricken rich and famous, Harold Robbins was, in his day, a close runner-up to Shakespeare and the Bible in numbers of books sold.
Oghma Communications 2023-06-27 328 pages

The Dream Merchants

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times number one bestseller The Carpetbaggers comes a novel of passion, intrigue, power, and money. With 11 weeks on The New York Times best sellers list, The Dream Merchants provides a fascinating look at the early days of the world's most glamorous industry--Hollywood. It was the latest "gold rush"--when ambitious, if unscrupulous, men and women flooded California to turn cinematic dreams into reality, regardless of the moral cost. Johnny Edge, a former carnival barker, schemes and plots his way to the top while Peter Kessler turns his back on a staid life of small-town stability to stake his fortune on the movie business. Beautiful starlet Dulcie Warren is willing to use her sexuality and to play dirty to get to the top, if that's what it takes. When the lives of these three ambitious, determined characters collide, they have the potential to build a dream--or shatter one to pieces. More than 25 New York Times bestsellers later--many reaching the #1 spot--and with over 750 million copies sold to date, Harold Robbins became one of the most successful authors of all time.
Oghma Creative Media 2016-11-17 560 pages

The Predators

Harold Robbins
The Predators combines in one novel the finest attributes of A Stone for Danny Fisher and The Carpetbaggers. It will take you on a wild odyssey through the gaudy and reckless life of Jerry Cooper--his struggles to survive in Depression-era New York, his years in Europe during the Second World War, his friends, his lovers, his life in organized crime, and his entrance into the world of high-powered international business. The Predators is the defining work of Harold Robbins's spectacular career.
Macmillan 1999-04-15 416 pages

The Secret

Harold Robbins
The world's bestselling novelist is back with Secrets , a steamy novel chronicling the rise of a lingerie chain. Jerry Cooper of The Predators is back to launch his new empire of intimate women's apparel. He now has a son, Les Cooper, a streetwise young lawyer who slowly uncovers the family's mob involvement, a secret which Jerry has desperately tried to conceal until he finds himself in need of a lawyer. Combining the grit of his early work with the glamour of his later novels, Robbins once again provides readers with a pantheon of street-raised hustlers and anti-heroes who would use their hard-won knowledge to claw their way up the ladder of success.
Macmillan 2001-06-18 416 pages

79 Park Avenue

Harold Robbins
In 1955, New York Times bestselling novelist Harold Robbins shocked the world by pulling back the bedroom curtain to expose America's complicated and controversial relationship with the power of female sexuality. The concept was stunning, salacious... and breathtaking--a story not only built entirely upon the premise of illicit sex, but from a woman's point of view, as she uses it to rise to a position of power and wealth in a man's world. It was a seminal moment, and the literary world would never be the same. Fate, love, power, and sex collide in the halls of justice in New York City as ADA Mike Keyes comes face-to-face with his lifelong love, MaryAnn Flood, the city's most notorious--to say nothing of dangerous--madame. Before she was a tabloid celebrity with a little black book full of the names, though, Marja Fluudjincki was a shy young girl who captured his heart and never let it go. In the years since, she's parlayed her beauty into power and position as the head of 79 Park Avenue, an escort service catering to the rich and powerful under the guise of an upscale modeling agency. Now, with Marja on trial and Mike the prosecutor assigned to her case, they both face the biggest challenge of their lives. Is she still capable of love after sacrificing everything to claw her way up from the mean streets to the penthouse? Can he--should he--set aside his personal feelings for the sake of justice? 79 Park Avenue is a story of unanswered, perhaps unanswerable, questions, for society as much as its brilliantly nuanced characters. Why is the promiscuous man celebrated while his female counterpart is shamed? How can we revel in the sexualization of women, yet respect them so little? How much progress have we really made in the battle of the sexes? More than 60 years after its original release, the story of MaryAnn Flood remains just as relevant today, and this, more than anything demonstrates the genius and talent of Harold Robbins.
Iridium Press 2017-06-15 340 pages

The Lonely Lady

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 bestselling novel The Carpetbaggers comes the gutwrenching story of one woman's battle to break free of the male-dominated, sexual pay-to-play culture of Hollywood.... THE LONELY LADY JeriLee Randall is a young girl with dreams of being a writer. While she is discovering her own sexuality, she meets Walter Thornton, Jr., son of the world-famous playwright, Walter Thornton, Sr., whom she idolizes. After a humiliating "near" sexual encounter with JeriLee, Walt, Jr. participates in a brutal assault that traumatizes her and triggers unfettered chaos in their small, gossipy town. Trying to make amends for the deplorable behavior of his son, Walt's father befriends JeriLee. Despite their age difference the two become close and eventually marry. Inevitably, their union unravels, and JeriLee embarks on a path of sexual liberation in her pursuit of success-from stints in sleazy strip clubs to rendezvous on the casting couches of Hollywood moguls and eventually to the twilight world of drugs-moving restlessly from man to man and woman to woman. Can she find success in a brutal world while retaining her dignity, honesty, and the self-respect developed in her youth? As she struggles to retain her dreams of stardom, can her strength and cunning save her from Hollywood's death grip, allowing her to beat the smooth talking power players at their own game? When it was originally published in 1976, The Lonely Lady spent 24 weeks on the bestseller list, turning Hollywood on its ear. Could anyone have predicted then that JeriLee's story would still be so shockingly relevant over forty years later?
Oghma Creative Media 2021-06-22 442 pages

Spellbinder

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 bestselling novel The Carpetbaggers comes a hard-edged look at the seductive, high-stakes and often hypocritical world of religious revivalism and televangelists.... Spellbinder is the story of a genuine and charismatic believer known as "Preacher," who returns from the foxholes and horrors of Vietnam with a simple goal--to spread the word of peace, love, and charity. He immediately attracts a following as he moves from California communes to small surfing towns. "The Church," as his mobile flock is now known, is a culture that centers as much on sex and drugs as prayers, sacraments, and salvation. Despite a growing following, The Church is bordering on bankruptcy. As they reach what is surely the end of the line in Texas, a powerful billionaire witnesses Preacher and likes what he sees. Offered a platform for his heavenly message to reach millions, Preacher takes the leap into the new world of mass broadcasting the gospel. Before long, Preacher becomes one of the most powerful televangelists in the country, making influential friends and building a vast empire as the newest religious superstar. He finds his new success and status as "the" rock star entertainer of big-top religion intoxicating. Deep inside, though, he realizes that he's become just another televangelist selling everlasting salvation for an earthly price. Religion professes the only power... Preacher's power is love, but he meets greed, lust, and corruption from his believers. With a burning conscience, he faces a truly gut-wrenching choice--preserve his empire to continue to spread the word, or become the sacrificial lamb on the altar to expose the hypocrisy surrounding him.
Oghma Creative Media 2018-08-28 318 pages

Dreams Die First

Harold Robbins
California in the 1960s is a time of free love and peace on Earth. But the times, they are a'changing, and Gareth Brendan is trying his best to keep up. When his wealthy, powerful uncle gives him control of an underground newspaper, Gareth finds an outlet for all the radical thoughts and ideas he's kept inside. Suddenly, he's the head of an empire of casinos and clubs, movies and magazines, surrounded by models and pimps who cater to the ultra-rich. Dreams Die First is an explosive story of one man's vision of liberated sexuality and how he turns that vision into a life of fame and fantasy. But all that power comes at a price, as a ruthless underworld syndicate seeks to topple Gareth's throne. Harold Robbins, the world's bestselling novelist, does it again in Dreams Die First, a tale of power and passion that transports readers to another place and time.
Pocket Books 1978 408 pages

Where Love Has Gone

Harold Robbins
From the author of The New York Times #1 bestselling novel The Carpetbaggers comes a story inspired by the real-life murder of Johnny Stompanato, allegedly stabbed to death by the daughter of his lover, actress Lana Turner. Where Love Has Gone is a thrilling tale of greed, betrayal, and passion. When first published in 1962, the novel rocked Hollywood to its core, staying on The New York Times bestseller list for 14 weeks. In love and soon to be a father, Luke Carey has the life he's always wanted. That is, until a mysterious late-night phone call summons him to San Francisco. Luke's first daughter whom he hasn't seen in six years, fourteen-year-old Danielle, needs him, and he's desperate to do anything he can to help. But coming back into Danielle's life means facing his ex-wife Nora, and the explosive, violent drama of the life he left behind. Where Love Has Gone was adapted into the Academy Award(R)-nominated blockbuster film of the same name, starring Oscar(R) winners Bette Davis and Susan Hayward.
Oghma Creative Media 2017-12-14 366 pages