Rich and Famous

Twenty-two years in the turbulent best friendship of Brit Liz Hamilton and southern belle Merry Noel Blake is presented. This phase of their story begins in 1959 as roommates at east coast Smith College when Merry, with Liz's blessing and help, "escapes" before graduation to elope with Doug Blake and move with him to southern California to start their married life. This move begins the divergence between the two friends with Merry living an outwardly happy life as wealthy housewife with celebrity friends, and Liz becoming a critically acclaimed serious novelist with a feminist bent. But their friendship is continually tested as each strives for a little or a lot of what the other has, sometimes in competition for who lives that life more successfully. Merry also wants to be a writer, she inherently more commercial (i.e. less serious) in her writing than Liz, but still wanting the acclaim of being serious in her craft. While she strives for this writing career, she doesn't realize that her home life is falling apart, not only with Doug but also their daughter Debby. And while Liz retains her serious status as a writer, she is continually plagued by writers block following that successful first novel, that issue in her professional life arguably exacerbated by excessive drinking. She also compensates for that block not only by that drinking but in choosing men that are bad for her but not being available to the ones who may fulfill her emotional needs.