Chapter 16, Toad Time 1948-1955 Summary and Analysis

In 1948, Dorothy becomes drinking buddies with one of Alan's military chums, Rosser Lynn Evans. It doesn't take long for a romance to ensue and he is soon living with Dorothy at the New Weston. They wind up co-authoring an unremarkable short story for Cosmopolitan. The story is sub-par because Evans is an inexperienced and mediocre writer who does not listen to Dorothy's voice of experience. Dorothy is turning out good work during this time, however, including a film treatment she has concocted with Frank Cavett. The treatment becomes a movie, The Lost Weekend, starring Susan Hayward, which earns Dorothy, Cavett and Hayward Academy Award Nominations. The movie gets exceptionally good reviews, and announces to the film industry that Dorothy Parker still has what it took to turn out great work, even without Alan. Dorothy retains...