Typewriter Beach

Instant USA Today Bestseller · Washington Post 5 Works of Historical Fiction to Read This Summer · Top 10 Library Read · Los Angeles Times 10 Reads for a Beach Day · Publishers Weekly Summer Read · Woman’s World Book Club Pick · Zibby Books That’ll Make You Swoon · AARP Summer ReadSet in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Hollywood, Typewriter Beach is an unforgettable story of the unlikely friendship between an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock's new star.1957. Isabella Giori is ten months into a standard seven-year studio contract when she auditions with Hitchcock. Just weeks later, she is sequestered by the studio’s “fixer” in a tiny Carmel cottage, waiting and dreading.Meanwhile, next door, Léon Chazan is annoyed as hell when Iz interrupts his work on yet another screenplay he won’t be able to sell, because he’s been blacklisted. Soon, they’re together in his roadster, speeding down the fog-shrouded Big Sur coast.

"Clayton delivers another top-tier dual-timeline historical. Thought-provoking and timely, it’s sure to be a big summer hit." — Library Journal (starred review)

"Under the shimmer of 1950s movie magic and the shadows of the McCarthy era, this romantic, moody mystery spotlights life in front of the camera.” — Shelf Awareness

 “5 Challah rating—Typewriter Beach is a wonderfully woven story with unexpected twists and connections. Written from alternating perspectives, it redefines family.” — Jewish Voice and Opinion

“Meg Waite Clayton pulls the reader into the story with nuanced, believable characters and prose that tells ‘just enough’ to keep reading until the end . . . . Typewriter Beach is not just a captivating story about Hollywood in the 50’s and 60’s or another examination of what family is about, it is also a portrait of the strength and importance of friendship and an intense look at the effect that the sowing of distrust can have on society.” — The Gloss Book Club

“This riveting historical brings McCarthy-era Hollywood to life . . . . I loved this story for its propulsive plot and riveting period details, most especially the numerous lovely portrayals of people finding love and family even when they’d given up hope of it happening for them in an unkind world.” — Modern Mrs Darcy

"Nothing beats Grace Kelly on the Riviera, as seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. But Clayton’s portrait of an aspiring Hitchcock blonde has intrigue to spare. Fledgling star Isabella Giori’s rise is cut short when she gets pregnant, after which she makes a fateful friendship with a blacklisted screenwriter while the McCarthy hearings rage on. Fans of Hollywood’s golden age will fall in love." — Publishers Weekly, "Summer Reads"

“Readers are taken to 1950s California in this riveting saga . . . . As secrets emerge, lives intersect in astonishing ways.”  — Women's World

“A true gem . . . and a testament to the power of good.”  — Library Journal (starred review) on The Postmistress of Paris