The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict

People
Austria	Hollywood
Hedwig Kiesler – Hedy Lamarr Gertrude – mother Father – bank manager Friedrich “Fritz” Mandl – munitions manufacturer, 1937 collaborated with Hitler Ada – maid Ernest von Starhemberg – vice-chancellor, ousted by Schuschnigg for being too soft on Germans Ferdinand von Starhemberg – brother, instrumental in attempted escape Kurt von Schuschnigg – Minister of Justice and Education; Austrian dictator, May 1936 Chancellor Dollfuss – cohort of Fritz Social Democratic Party Christian Social Party – Fritz’s party, anti-Semites Mussolini – “Il Duce,” armed by Fritz Laura – maid similar in appearance to Hedy	Hedy Lamarr – Hedwig Kiesler Louis B. Mayer Margaret Mayer Ilona Massey – Hungarian actress, roommate Gene Markey – second husband James – adopted son Mrs. Burton – nanny George Antheil – composer, scientist, inventor National Inventor’s Council Eddie Rhodes – sailor in audience of all war bond performances, Hedy offered to kiss him if certain amount of war bonds sold

or Discussion:

For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Did Hedy and her family have a choice regarding her marriage to Fritz?  Her father felt Fritz could protect Hedy and her mother (page 100).
2. Hedy always felt that her mother thought her unworthy, but toward the end of the book she told Hedy she only did that to counteract the praise from her father.  Was her explanation in the letter sent in 1939 believable?  Did you believe her mother or understand her?
3. Hedy’s father thought that Fritz was committed to keeping Austria independent from Germany (page 39).  Was Fritz a hero for trying to protect Austria or a villain for producing weapons and arming Mussolini?
4. Discuss the differences between Hedy’s two dressers – Mrs. Lubbig in Austria (chilly and reticent) and Susie in America (bubbly).  One difference Hedy noticed was that, “Americans were so familiar with one another” (page 161).
5. Hedy felt guilty about not warning anyone of the impending dangers she discovered in listening to Fritz and his colleagues’ conversations.  In 1939 she thought, “The gravity of my crime had become clear…. I bore blame for keeping this secret.  My silence and selfishness had allowed the floodgates to open” (page 184).  Realistically was there anything she could have done?
6. George Antheil was a composer, but he worked with Hedy on radio-control system ideas for the torpedoes.  Hedy said he was perfect because he had “a highly developed sense of mechanical instruments…You approach problems – the world, even – from a broad perspective” (page 205).  Why do you think they were so successful as a team?
7. At one point, George spontaneously kissed Hedy and it took a while for her to forgive him.  She “understood that his overture had been kneejerk, as Susie like to say, a behavior ingrained by society in most men” (page 215).  Would this be forgiven today?
8. At the end of the book, Hedy wondered which person she had become; “Hedy Lamarr, only a beautiful face and lissome body” or “Had I taken the persona to which I’d been relegated and made myself into a weapon against the Third Reich after all” (page 243).   What do you think?
9. According to Wikipedia, there were several inaccuracies in this story.  For example, her parents did not approve of her marriage to Fritz and also documentation was discovered that proved that James was not a refugee baby but instead the illegitimate child of Hedy and John Loder, her third husband.   Are these facts important to your opinion of Hedy Lamarr?
10. Given the above information, this would be classified as historical fiction.  Did you like the way it was written in the first person?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.