The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: In-depth review

A mesmerizing journey through Hollywood's golden era that reveals the heartbreaking truth behind the glittering facade

In a literary landscape filled with stories of celebrity, few novels manage to capture both the intoxicating allure and devastating cost of fame with the precision and emotional depth of Taylor Jenkins Reid's "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo." This captivating masterpiece, which skyrocketed to bestseller status years after its 2017 publication thanks to BookTok's enthusiastic embrace, delivers far more than its provocative title suggests. Beyond the promised chronicle of seven marriages lies a story of forbidden love, crushing sacrifice, and the complicated truth that sometimes the most authentic parts of ourselves are precisely what we must hide to survive.

More Than Just Another Hollywood Tale

At its core, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" follows the fictional life story of Cuban-American actress Evelyn Hugo, who rose from humble beginnings to become one of Hollywood's most iconic stars from the 1950s through the 1980s. Now in her late seventies, the notoriously private Evelyn has selected unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the coveted task of writing her tell-all biography. As Monique questions why she, specifically, was chosen for this career-defining opportunity, Evelyn methodically reveals the scandalous, heartbreaking, and ultimately transformative story behind each of her seven marriages.

What emerges is no simple celebrity memoir. Instead, Reid crafts a narrative that uses the glittering backdrop of Old Hollywood to explore profound questions about identity, ambition, sacrifice, and the painful reality that sometimes living authentically comes at an unbearable price. As Evelyn's story unfolds, readers discover that her seemingly sensational marital history conceals a far more compelling truth: her great love story wasn't with any of her husbands at all.

A Protagonist You Can't Look Away From

From the novel's opening pages, Evelyn Hugo commands attention with the same magnetic presence that defined her fictional film career. Reid creates in Evelyn a character of remarkable complexity – ambitious enough to make devastating sacrifices for her career yet vulnerable enough to risk everything for love; calculating in her professional machinations yet fiercely loyal to those she truly cares for; manipulative when necessary yet unflinchingly honest in her private reflections.

What makes Evelyn so compelling isn't just her glamorous life but her refreshing refusal to apologize for the choices she made to survive and succeed in a system designed to exploit women. As she tells her story, Evelyn acknowledges her mistakes without diminishing her accomplishments, creating a character study in moral complexity that refuses simple judgment. Her clear-eyed assessment of her own flaws – her ruthlessness, her willingness to use others, her occasional cruelty – makes her virtues all the more believable.

Through Evelyn, Reid explores how women, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, have historically had to commodify themselves to achieve success. Born Evelyn Elena Herrera to poor Cuban immigrants, Evelyn deliberately transforms herself – changing her name, dyeing her hair blonde, and even marrying strategically – to become marketable to Hollywood's power brokers. The novel never shies away from examining the painful compromises involved in this self-erasure or the psychological toll of building a public persona at odds with one's private self.

The Seven Husbands: More Than Just Plot Devices

While the husbands provide the novel's structural framework, Reid ensures each marriage reveals something essential about Evelyn and the era in which it occurred. From her first practical marriage to poor but kind Ernie Diaz to her final union with financial titan Robert Jamison, each relationship serves a specific purpose in Evelyn's carefully orchestrated life. Some marriages advance her career, others provide cover for her secrets, and a few even contain genuine affection – though never the complete truth of Evelyn's heart.

What makes these marriages fascinating isn't just their strategic nature but how they reflect the changing expectations for women across decades of American history. Through Evelyn's marital history, Reid traces the evolution of gender politics from the restrictive 1950s through the sexual revolution and beyond, showing how even a woman of Evelyn's power remained constrained by the social expectations of her time.

Perhaps most poignantly, the novel explores how these marriages, while often arranged for publicity or convenience, still exacted a profound emotional cost. Even when entering relationships with clear-eyed pragmatism, Evelyn cannot entirely escape the human vulnerability that comes with sharing her life with another person. Some of the novel's most affecting moments come when genuine connection unexpectedly emerges within these ostensibly strategic arrangements.

The True Heart of the Story

The brilliance of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" lies in its central revelation – that despite the title's emphasis on Evelyn's husbands, her true love story was with fellow actress Celia St. James. Their decades-long relationship forms the emotional core of the novel, providing both its most exhilarating highs and devastating lows.

Reid portrays this love story with remarkable sensitivity, depicting not just the passion between Evelyn and Celia but the profound understanding they share as women navigating the same treacherous industry. Their relationship contains multitudes – tender moments of perfect connection, bitter arguments fueled by jealousy and compromise, and the constant, grinding pressure of knowing their love could destroy everything they've worked for if discovered.

By centering a queer love story within the glamorous but restrictive world of Old Hollywood, Reid creates a powerful examination of what it means to live authentically in a world that demands conformity. The novel's exploration of sexuality is nuanced and historically grounded, acknowledging the very real dangers LGBTQ+ individuals faced during these decades while still celebrating the joy and fulfillment Evelyn and Celia find together.

The Price of Ambition

Threading throughout the narrative is Reid's unflinching examination of ambition – its costs, its rewards, and its complicated relationship with love. Evelyn's hunger for success provides the engine for much of the plot, driving decisions that readers will alternately cheer and condemn. Rather than portraying ambition as either a purely positive trait or a destructive flaw, Reid presents it as a fundamental aspect of Evelyn's character that, like all human qualities, creates both opportunity and limitation.

Some of the novel's most thought-provoking passages explore how ambition shapes Evelyn's relationships. With Celia, it creates both connection (as two successful women in the same industry) and conflict (as their career needs often diverge). With her husbands, it determines which compromises she can accept and which she cannot. And with herself, it forces continual negotiation between what she wants and what she's willing to sacrifice to get it.

Through Evelyn's story, Reid asks readers to consider whether achieving extraordinary success requires extraordinary sacrifice – and whether those sacrifices are ultimately worth making. The novel offers no easy answers, instead presenting the complicated reality that some dreams can only be achieved by surrendering others.

A Framing Device That Delivers

The choice to frame Evelyn's history through her interviews with Monique proves masterful, creating tension beyond the historical narrative. As Monique questions why she specifically was chosen for this career-defining opportunity, readers sense the presence of an untold connection between these women from different generations.

Monique's own journey – processing her father's death, navigating a divorce, and finding her professional footing – provides a contemporary counterpoint to Evelyn's historical struggles. While their circumstances differ dramatically, both women grapple with questions of identity, compromise, and determining which parts of life are worth fighting for.

The relationship that develops between these women adds another layer of emotional resonance to the novel. Their conversations often read like a passing of wisdom between generations – Evelyn's hard-earned insights informing Monique's evolving understanding of love, career, and the impossible balance between personal fulfillment and professional success.

Prose That Captivates Without Calling Attention to Itself

Reid's writing style perfectly complements her subject matter, blending accessibility with moments of startling insight. The prose flows conversationally during dialogue-heavy interview scenes, then shifts to more lush, emotional language when exploring Evelyn's inner life. This versatility creates an immersive reading experience that propels readers through nearly four decades of Hollywood history without ever feeling rushed or superficial.

Particularly effective is Reid's ability to write in different voices – Evelyn's sections feel distinct from Monique's, and both differ from the excerpts of fictional magazine articles and gossip columns interspersed throughout the narrative. These varying textures create a reading experience that feels almost multimedia, reinforcing the novel's examination of public versus private personas.

The Twist That Changes Everything

Without revealing the novel's final revelations, it's worth noting that Reid delivers a conclusion that forces readers to reevaluate everything that came before. The connection between Monique and Evelyn, when finally revealed, recontextualizes the entire narrative in a way that's both satisfying and heartbreaking.

This twist works because it feels organic rather than manipulative – the clues are subtly present throughout, and the revelation emerges naturally from character rather than being imposed for mere shock value. More importantly, it serves the novel's thematic concerns, reinforcing Reid's exploration of how the choices we make reverberate across generations and how the past is never truly finished with us.

Why This Novel Resonates

The enduring popularity of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" speaks to its remarkable ability to be many things at once: a glamorous Hollywood tale, a secret LGBTQ+ romance, an examination of ambition and identity, and ultimately a reflection on what makes a life well-lived.

Reid accomplishes something rare in creating a novel that entertains while simultaneously challenging readers to examine their own values. Through Evelyn's clear-eyed assessment of her choices – both those she celebrates and those she regrets – we're invited to consider our own priorities and the compromises we make in their pursuit.

Perhaps most powerfully, the novel reminds us that even the most carefully constructed public narratives often conceal the most meaningful truths of our lives. In an era increasingly defined by personal branding and curated public personas, Evelyn Hugo's journey feels startlingly relevant despite its historical setting.

For all its Hollywood glitz and scandalous revelations, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" ultimately delivers something far more valuable than mere celebrity gossip – an emotionally honest examination of how we navigate the tension between who we are and who the world demands we be. In Evelyn's story, we find both a cautionary tale about the price of fame and an inspiring testament to the enduring power of authentic love.