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LEGEND OF A LADY by Robert Hardy Andrews

LEGEND OF A LADY

By

Pub Date: May 23rd, 1949
Publisher: Coward-McCann

Baring another commercial field, this chronicles the rise of soap opera through the story of Rita Martin, who got her first job in Chicago in 1938 with a new advertising agency. She makes her way carefully, admitting her ignorance, keeping her ladylike qualities in all crises, underlining her devotion to her son, until she becomes indispensable to the ""genius"" partner, Carter Franklin. She is backed by him when she too produces new ideas, helps to sell them to their clients. But her falseness is recognized by their script writer, Tay Crofton, who becomes her nemesis when her ex-husband commits suicide, when Franklin's wife, dying of cancer, is led by Rita's radio serial to take her life. Rita creates havoc with the other two partners when her ambition to open a New York office goes through; she creates unbalance in her son by her selfish drive to marry Franklin. Once his wife, she excludes her son from her life, forces Franklin out of the office. But retribution is swift -- her son, running away from military school, is killed and Tay at last takes over the responsibility for Rita. Tooled along soap opera lines, and with an inside overall of radio production, this takes popular rentals and a wide female market in its stride.