Books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Private lives behind glamorous identities: women in entertainment, a geisha’s fictional story and a man pursuing a lost love.

For women facing the price of fame

Jacqueline Susann

Three women pursue entertainment careers while success, men and dependence on pills change their lives.

The difference: More bitterness and addiction, without Evelyn’s central queer love story.

Arthur Golden

A woman looks back on her training and relationships in a profession that requires her to perform an identity for powerful men.

The difference: An American novelist’s portrayal of Japan, not an actual memoir.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

A witness recounts the life of a wealthy man whose invented public identity serves his attachment to a woman from his past.

The difference: Shorter and centered on men, rather than a woman’s long career.

Sources and book details

Collected’s editorial comparisons, informed by the descriptions and reading profiles.