Back in 1966, Valley of the Dolls made history; never before had a book been so frank about sex, drugs and show business. It took the No. 1 place on the New York Times bestseller list for an unprecedented 28 weeks and went on to sell 40 million copies in 30 languages - this year marks 50 years since it first published and we've picked out ten of its very best quotes in honour of its special anniversary edition, out now.
Susann Jacqueline
'"She hadn't just left Lawrenceville - she had escaped. Escaped from marriage to some solid Lawrenceville boy, from the solid, orderly life of Lawrenceville. The same orderly life her mother had lived. And her mother's mother. In the same orderly kind of house. A house that a good New England family had lived in generation after generation, its inhabitants smothered with orderly, unused emotions, emotions stifled beneath the creaky iron armor called 'manners'."'
'"There is no such thing as love, the way you talk about it. You'll only find that kind of love in cheap movies and novels. Love is companionship, having friends in common, the same interests. Sex is the connotation you're placing on love, and let me tell you, young lady, that if and when it does exist, it dies very quickly after marriage"'
'"Hell, you're both young, enjoy it. I mean it - when you're young you think you'll always be young. Then one day you suddenly wake up and you're over fifty"'
' "She knew the feeling of love - and she knew it was the whole reason for living."'
'"There are many Henrys who are married and who wind up on top alone. They have to be alone, because they've alienated everyone along the way. In this rat race you whore, lie, cheat and use every trick you can employ to get up there where Henry is. This business demands it. And that's what I'm ranting against. Not Henry personally, but what everyone turns into if he sticks in it long enough."'
'"I'm not really in love with Helen any more, but I can't break the habit. It sneaks up on you, Anne - the habit. And after all emotion is gone and logic takes over, the habit is still there. For the rest of your life"'
'"People parted, years passed, they met again - and the meeting had proved no reunion, offered no warm memories, only the acid knowledge that time had passed and things weren't as bright or attractive as they had been. She was glad Lyon was in England. She'd hate to run into him like this, to find that his hair had thinned or that the girl he dated was too young, too insipid. It was better to keep a memory intact"'
'"And I've learned something - guys will leave you, your looks will go, your kids will grow up and everything you thought was great will go sour. All you can really count on is yourself and your talent"'
' "It was unbelievable. To be lying beside him, watching the smoke curl into the light of the bed lamp… there had been no hesitation, no bridges to cross; they had come together in a fusion of love and desire. This was complete fulfilment. When she held him in her arms she suddenly knew it was important to love - more important than being loved."'
'"She's all syrup and softness in the beginning, but like all stars, she's solid steel underneath."'
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann is published by Virago on 30th June at £9.99
