Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr

by Margaret Porter

“But I don’t regret anything. I learned a lot.” —Hedy Lamarr

Hollywood Beauty. Brilliant inventor. The incredible story of a remarkable and misunderstood woman.

Hedy Kiesler, Austrian actress of Jewish heritage, scandalizes Europe with her nudity in the art film Ecstasy. Her hasty marriage to a wealthy munitions merchant disintegrates as he grows increasingly controlling and possessive. Even worse—he supplies deadly weapons to Hitler’s regime.

She flees husband and homeland for Hollywood, where Louis B. Mayer transforms her into Hedy Lamarr, an icon of exotic glamour. Professional success clashes with her personal life as marriage and motherhood compete with the demands of studio and stardom.

Motivated by the atrocities of World War II, Hedy secretly invents a new technology intended for her adopted country’s defense—and unexpectedly changes the world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, Celebrity, Historical, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction

378 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2018

About the author

Because I was born into a family of readers and writers and scholars and travelers, there's no mystery about how or why I found my profession. From a very early age I invented characters and composed scenes and stories in my head. At about 10 years old I first saw my own words printed--in the grammar school newsletter that I co-founded, typed, and published. Around the same time I decided to combine my theatrical and my writing ambitions, and adapted all my favourite youth novels into scripts.
Since then many, many more words have been published: novels, nonfiction articles on British history and travel and theatre, website content, book and film reviews, my M.A. thesis, advertising copy...and more.

~ 17 ovels in a variety of formats and foreign translations
~ magazine & newsletter articles
~ newspaper opinion columns
~ documentary & instructional film scripts
~ poetry

Interests and Pastimes
- producing and co-hosting a book and literary tv program
~ reading
~ gardening (roses & perennials)
~ travel (near & far)
~ photography (nature, travel, architectural, portrait)
~ music (I play the mandolin, my listening tastes are broad)
~ movies
~ wildlife & bird watching
~ walking my dog
~ canoeing
~ knitting & embroidery

I live with my husband and our collie-hound dog in an architecturally unique, book-filled home in a lovely and historic New England city. A favorite retreat--and my preferred writing location for many months of the year--is our rustic cottage beside one of our region's largest and most scenic lakes. We return annually to Great Britain.

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are in for a magnificent treat when you read Margaret Porter’s exquisite new novel. This elegant fictionalized biography sheds gorgeous light on a woman once considered the most stunning in the world, but one who also had a brilliant mind, who invented technology that permits you to read my review right now, who had six failed marriages, difficult relationships with her children, and felt invisible behind her glorious exterior mask.

But we see Hedy here, in the author’s meticulously researched novel written in poetic style that allows the actress, with her gifts and flaws, to shine clearly through.

We find her, young Hedy Kiesler, an Austrian of Jewish heritage, nude in the shocking movie “Ecstasy” in which she feigns an orgasm, the first on screen in a non-pornographic movie.

She is heavily courted and hastily marries a much older ultra wealthy munitions merchant who destroys their relationship with his increasingly possessive nature. The marital death knell is sounded when she discovers he is supplying weapons to Hitler’s regime.

She has the guts and confidence to leave him ultimately for Hollywood, where Louis B. Mayer remakes her into Hedy Lamarr, an exotic glamorous being who still stuns on celluloid today. She illuminates the screen with her radiant beauty and intelligence. But her success interferes with her life as a wife and mother, leaving her with five more failed marriages and strained relationships with her children.

Yet this is only one facet of the very complex Hedy, who had a fine although never formally trained scientific mind. Impacted by the atrocities she witnessed during World War II, Hedy secretly invents a new technology intended for her adopted country's defense, one that makes possible my posting this review today. It is spread spectrum technology which served as the gateway to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The great beauty is equally brilliant, and it is her invention that redeems her later in life, when she leaves Hollywood and later becomes a recluse, hiding away when her physical beauty decays.

“Beautiful Invention” swept me into Hedy’s life from the first page, so captivated was I by this incredible woman, fleshed out in the most compelling fashion by Porter’s very assured prose, plotting and execution. Yes, historical fiction and biographies are my most favorite genres, but “Beautiful Invention” surpasses every expectation. I thank the author for the advance copy in exchange for my authentic opinion. 5/5

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book was stunning and upon reading the first chapter I was already in awe of the incredible Hedy Kiesler. The time in which she lived has always fascinated me and I enjoyed seeing that period through a new-to-me view.
Hedy's life and circumstances held me mesmerized. I was rooting for her independence as she struggled in her marriage against Fritz.
When she finally made it to America, her struggles evolved. I awaited success alongside her as I watched her work to persevere.
When Hitler set things in motion in Europe, I could feel Hedy's worry for the people left behind. This was a frightening and uncertain time, and it was easy to feel Hedy's disdain for it bubbling just below the surface. Her brilliance and depth of character were fabulously demonstrated in this novel, especially as she began to plot the ways in which she could provide assistance against the Nazis. What an absolutely incredible woman she was!
I was completely hooked on this story and along for the wild ride that was Hedy's life and romances. She was a truly remarkable woman.
The author's notes at the end were excellent and gave me great closure about Hedy's life after the novel ended. I had been so curious about where life would take her next. I was truly fascinated by her by the end of this book. Porter did a fabulous job of bringing to life this truly amazing woman.

[Viviane Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr. Margaret Porter. Gallica Press. October 2018. 378 pp. ISBN#: 9780990742036.
“I enjoy drawing up plans and designing and making things…They don’t realize that Hedy Lamarr is an invention.” Yes, Hedy Lamarr was a beautiful actress but also an intelligent woman who invented a war weapon that was almost used to defeat the Germans in WWII.
Born Hedy Kiesler, an Austrian, Jewish woman, she aspired to be a wonderful actress, but the films she chose to act in first was Ecstasy. Hedy appears naked and fakes an orgasm which equally gained her universal praise and scorn in the earlier years of the 20th Century. She marries a German munitions dealer who soon becomes her jailor. She winds up escaping from him after realizing she couldn’t ignore her yearning to become a full-time actress. Hedy signed a contract with Louis Mayer after much haggling but seems frustrated by not being given films she feels are equal to her acting abilities. Still, her looks and talents catapult her to fame and stardom status! Her love life is certainly interesting if not very stable.
Margaret Porter gives a deft depiction of the lives of actors and actresses who more frequently “use” each other for better scripts or positions in the middle of a turbulent time of history with the rise of Adolph Hitler and the beginning of WWII. Hedy moves through six marriages and has several children, including one adopted son. She is also an avid gardener and inventor. She generously contributes her time for the war by selling bonds and attending clubs to sign autographs and dance with soldiers and sailors on leave.
She researches science facts to create the torpedo that can attack without being detected. The work behind this creation is no small feat and highly complex. Hedy herself is a complex character, always searching for deeper meaning and creation, never satisfied. Her private and public life parallel the historical and political turmoil of Europe and America – dramatic and life-changing!
Enjoy the scenes where Hedy stuns observers with her appearances in elegant gowns and hats, once an actress, always an actress! Yet also relish the brilliance of her thinking as she seeks solitude to do research and create a soda machine and later a war weapon to be used against Germany. Most of all, just revel in the enigmatic and intelligent talent of one of the most famous actresses in the Gilded Age of American Theatre! Highly recommended!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads. Hedy Lamarr had an amazing life filled with travels, several marriages, the ability to speak 5 languages, an acting career and invented something that helped the military. She lived through having her country overrun during WWII and the worry about her mother being left behind in Europe. While I don't really know the movies she was in, it was an interesting look at her life.

[Hunter Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darn entertaining read. I suppose you call this historical fiction? Margaret Porter researched intensively, and it shows. But of course, the conversations and dialogue are for the most part imagined. Nevertheless, it seems to me (and I have read several Lamarr biographies) that this author nails down her personality very clearly; much more so than anything else I have seen. Hedy Lamarr as presented here, is a true Scorpio (if you're into that kind of thing). And by that, I mean she is full of contradiction. She is naive, shrewd, kind, selfish, caring, aloof, intelligent, belligerent, stubborn, patient, hedonistic, aloof, approachable...and pure in heart.

One thing she isn't: Content.

It seems, at least from this book, she never found that sweet spot of being comfortable in her own skin. Not for very long, anyway. She craved simplicity. But with her ethereal face, she realized it was a tool she could use for her advancement to an extreme. And that power was hard to resist. So her life became complex because of poor choices.

I won't go on about the story; because if you know anything about her life, it's all represented here, at least up until 1950. But what makes this fascinating is the extensive research and the factual incidents; which don't really align very well with what Hedy or the studio presented. Her "escape" from her first husband is certainly intriguing, but it's not that legend about her escaping in a maid's outfit in the middle of the night. It's not that dramatic. Too much evidence shows that he was well aware she was going to leave him, and he allowed it because he wanted to marry someone else he was having an affair with. And I was surprised to learn she stayed in touch with him until his death many years later. She did not despise him the way we've been told from both her and from MGM. It was concocted to make her seem more of a victim; more approachable.

She is not an evil vixen. Neither is she a saint. Certain aspects of her life are a little hard to swallow, even for diehard fans. And yet...for me...those unfortunate choices make her that much interesting. Truly, probably the most paradoxical person I've ever read about.

The information about her invention is presented clearly and concisely. To be honest, not being scientific myself, I felt like I didn't need to know as much as is presented here...so I kind of skimmed through these sections without losing the gist of it. However, for those so inclined, you will probably love this sequence.

The reason for 4 stars instead of 5: Sometimes events (which personally I would like to know more about) are rushed through in the last two thirds of the book. For example, the book states that the film "White Cargo" was quite successful, but then later on it is referred to as "a problem." Well, I happen to know enough about that movie to know why, but someone who doesn't is not going to get any information here about it. Also, the greatest box office success of her career, "Samson and Delilah," is barely mentioned. I felt a little cheated, since we got SO much information about one of her worst early on in the book, which is "I Take This Woman."

FYI...the cover illustration is done beautifully but looks nothing like Hedy Lamarr, which is rather odd.

But overall, I really loved reading this and found I could hardly put it down.

[Mark Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of all things Old Hollywood, I was intrigued to read this biographical novel of one of the 20th century's most fascinating people. The "nonfiction fiction" format allows for some license, I'm sure, but if anything, Ms. Porter's compelling book left me wanting to read more about Hedy Lamarr's extraordinary life. The emotional undercurrent of Hedy trying to escape a personally scandalous and politically treacherous past kept me engaged as the events of her life and career unfolded. I was actually disappointed by the ending point of the narrative, as I would have loved to enjoy more of Ms. Porter's take on Hedy's later years. Highly recommended for old movie and history buffs alike.

[Kimber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title makes one believe the book is going to be about her actual invention, when in fact the book is more about her life in Hollywood and her personal affairs.

[V.P. Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was mostly telling and not showing. The dialog was just exposition disguised as conversation and not the way people actually speak.

[Deanna Lynn Sletten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating, fascinating, and entrancing. These are just three words of many that I could use to describe this incredible novel by Margaret Porter. I was hooked from the very first line. From the moment young Hedy Kiesler appears on screen in the shocking film Ecstasy, she is destined to become one of Hollywood’s biggest, brightest, most alluring stars. But first she must endure her family’s shame over her provocative movie and an unhappy marriage before chasing her dream. A dream that will take her across an ocean and make her the most famous celebrity of her day known by her fans as Hedy Lamarr. Unbeknownst to those who idolize her, she is also a woman of high intelligence who has more to offer than her beauty.

Beautifully written with interesting historical detail, this novel is hard to put down. You feel you really do get to know Hedy and all those around her. Trust me—this is a must read for anyone who loves historical fiction.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this beautiful book sometime back and regretfully didn't get to it until late this summer. It was so worth the wait though! Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I really enjoyed reading about the life of Hedy Kiesler/Hedy Lamarr. A beautifully told account of Hedy's amazing life both personally and professionally, as an actress and as an inventor. How she helped with the war efforts and how her invention has had a far-reaching impact on many of the items that we know and use today! So much more than a pretty face...Hedy was an incredibly smart, strong, thoughtful, kind, and generous woman!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and, as much as possible, factual account of the first half of Hedy Lamar's life. Interesting how, for all her glamour and popularity in the 30's and 40's, she didn't seem to have the success other starters if the era did. At least, that's what I was left with. Possibly because her American career was controlled by LB Mayer for so long. Also interesting how she was such a homebody, not wanting to do glamorous stuff. And then, of course, her intellect.... So sad she didn't have the opportunity to use it fully.

[Elizabeth Gauffreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Porter’s historical novel, Beautiful Invention: A novel of Hedy Lamarr, opens with a teenaged Hedy Kiesler crouching naked in the Carpathian woods, waiting for the director’s clapper board to signal that the camera is rolling for what would become the infamous film Ecstasy. She’s young, she’s ambitious, and she wants to be an actress.

Before that dream can be realized, Hedy is charmed into an ill-fated marriage with a wealthy munitions manufacturer who becomes increasingly possessive and controlling. When she stumbles across evidence that he is supplying munitions to the rising Nazi regime, she uses her prior movie contacts to arrange a meeting with the head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, and makes her escape.

When Hedy gets to Hollywood, she finds that it is all artifice: the clothes, the hair, the makeup, the body-altering diets. To her dismay, she doesn’t get offered any movie roles while MGM is in the process of transforming her into the exotic glamour queen Mayer has decided she will become. When the movie roles do start coming, too many of them are disappointing vehicles for showing off her face and figure.

The structure of Beautiful Invention is a straight chronology, but the passage of time is marked by movie projects and romantic relationships, so that we lose our grounding in place and time. Then larger world events intrude to remind us of reality outside of the Hollywood dream. As for Hedy, she is at her most animated and driven when she is involved in the war effort, including her invention of a torpedo guidance technology that can’t be intercepted by the enemy. Otherwise, she seems to drift from movie to movie and romance to romance. I was struck by how impermanent and unsatisfactory the romantic relationships of the major players in the book seemed to be.

The novel is well-written and engaging, with a smooth prose style that carried me effortlessly from scene to scene and chapter to chapter. I particularly enjoyed encountering the elite of Hollywood’s Golden Age in their offscreen incarnations, not knowing whom I would bump into next when I turned the page. Clark Gable? Greer Garson? Joan Crawford? A particularly fun chapter focused on Hedy's involvement in the Stage Door Canteen, with the incomparable Bette Davis running the show, barking orders at star and starlet alike.

As I was reading, I did wonder about the conventions of writing book-length fiction about a well-known historical figure’s life. With a quick Google search, I learned from Writer’s Digest that the plot should adhere to the known facts of a person’s life, with some leeway to invent minor scenes, and the most leeway in inventing dialog. The author’s note at the end of the book confirms Porter’s research process in developing the novel. In addition, the author’s note provides details of Lamarr’s later life that raise intriguing questions I would love to see explored in a sequel.

I highly recommend Beautiful Invention for readers interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood and the women it defined.

[Mercedes Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting title for a woman whose name and popular image became as much an invention as her famous contraptions. Emotional, restless, and frustrated that everyone assumed she was dumb because she was beautiful, Hedy apparently spent her whole life looking for the right partner. I say “apparently” because the novel only takes us through 1949 and the end of her third marriage; she died in 2000 after six marriages. Her first unfortunate film at the age of 18 called Ecstasy showed her running nude through the forest and having an orgasm. What a scandal! Unfortunately, this debacle almost ruined her career and it seems she never quite got over it. When Louis B Mayer took her on (after her first disastrous marriage), it seems he never really gave her the roles she craved and she got caught up in the whole Studio Era:

Throughout the meal, Bob entertained them with tales of Hollywood and its celebrated inhabitants.
Hedy, struggling to follow the conversational flow, retreated into silence, as she’d done so often during her husband’s dinner parties. She recognized similarities between Austria’s political and social hierarchy and that of the moviemaking realm. Power was everything—gaining it, holding on to it, and wielding it against competitors and enemies alike. Success ensured it. Failure threatened it. Repeated failure destroyed it.

This is a sad story about a frustrated life. Although Hedy seems to come out ahead in her career, her personal life never rises to her expectations. We know she is brilliant and mechanically inclined, and we do see her working on a torpedo design for the war effort, but that, too, is rejected by the government. Although I was really interested to hear about her inventions, I admit this sideline does not make for exciting prose and the author kept it to a minimum. I had a bit of trouble following all her relationships because the transitions were awkward and sometimes nonexistent. But overall the book kept me turning the pages and I got a pretty good feeling for this star-crossed beauty.

[Linda Edmonds Cerullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling historical fiction on the life of Hedy Lamarr. A budding actress who starred in a movie while in Vienna that contained nudity and what might be currently referred to as "soft porn", Hedy had a reputation when she was still a teenager. Her parents were less than enthused at her first film. Marrying a wealthy, older man who was a Viennese arms merchant, she is given all she desires (money, homes, jewels, clothing), but is unhappy in the marriage as her husband is not only unfaithful, but demanding. Hedy wants to act again. He won't permit it. So she abandons her husband, who eventually agrees to a divorce. Aware that war with Germany is approaching, Hedy flees first to London, then on to America where she is signed to MGM by Louis B. Mayer. While much of the book involves her films, friendships and marriages and is quite intriguing, the big takeaway from this wonderful novel is that Hedy was also an inventor. While some of her inventions are a bit complicated, it is incredible to realize that she was more than just a pretty face. She was very anti-Hitler and worked hard for the war effort -- selling war bonds along with many in the Hollywood community. A final chapter wraps up the later years of her life and distinguishes fact from fiction (most of the book is based on fact). An interesting look at the life of a wonderful actress and a highly inventive woman.

[Nancy I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prior to reading this novel, all I knew of Hedy Lamarr was her name, i.e., Hedy Lamarr, she was a Hollywood beauty & actress, and she was an inventor. After reading this I realized that I never saw any of the films she was in nor did I know that along with co-inventor George Antheil she invented a radio system for preventing jamming, using a system known as frequency hopping. This is in widespread use today, the basics of which "are enmeshed with our daily habits and activities: wi-fi, cellular telephones, Bluetooth, and geophysical positioning systems (GPS)," Impressive, right?

Hedy led quite a life, from her film debut in Ecstasy, while a teen, to her first marriage to an Austrian industrialist, to her move to and life in Hollywood, where five other marriages occurred. It may sound odd, but I would have loved to have known her, for the real her, not for the image L.B. Mayer kept trying to portray. It is a shame that in her later years, while living in Florida, she became a recluse, and rumor has it that she would only communicate with her children by phone.

[Carolepstockgmail.Com · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really pleased I read the history of this woman who suffered much and achieved much - a woman who was defined more for her beauty than for her remarkable contribution to science and her 'spread role' technology. There were also pertinent insights into many aspects of this period including the rise of Hitler, the Hollywood moguls and America during the war years, the subjection of women to male authority and abuse. Yet I found her writing disappointing. I did not feel she brought depth to the character of Hedy Lamarr nor some of the key issues of the time. The language was often inconsistent with the period and there was too much name dropping of the famous actors and producers - perhaps a little too much time spent on the various love affairs and indulgences of the self centred film makers and their all too often dissolute actors.. Still it was a fascinating subject and an important tale to tell.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most people know Hedy Lamarr the actress, but few people know Hedy Lamarr the inventor. Throughout her life, Lamarr strove to be more than what MGM wanted her to be - a glamourous leading lady. The actress was intelligent, strong and independent. As a famous actress, it was hard to trust anyone in Hollywood or around. People were so mesmerised with her. I would say the only deficiency in this novel is the writing. Porter needs a good editor. Verbs were missing, words were repeated twice and punctuation went out the window. I had to read sentences over and over to get the meaning because of the clumsy sentences. All in all, the story of Lamarr was interesting and it brought forth the Hollywood heydays I had heard about.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read. I knew only a bit about Lamarr, and I enjoyed this fictionalized version of her story. The author notes at the end that it’s hard to know the truth of her life since MGM manufactured an identity and story for her, and Lamarr’s own autobiography is untrustworthy. Still, very interesting to read about her life in early Hollywood and as an unexpected technical innovator during WWII. I also have to admit that I was leery of the self-published book category for my reading challenge, but this book was well written, with just a few typos.

[Exokiwi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a book I should have loved based on my interest in this particular woman but I did not.
The book is quite flat in character as well as having a strong focus on her marriages and lovelife. The primary focus is very much Hedy Lamar the glamour actress and wife/mother that are centre stage, not Hedy Kiesler the inventor The one I longed to get to know.
Only around the area where she is involved in the patent there is a relatively short part where the interest However this is late In bypassing it is mentioned that she has a subscription to a lot of technical science titles. This indicates that she was self taught (she was) and that most likely she was reading science even in her first marriage and spent a lot of time on that in her single years
Instead it has a focus on the dinners, the men the sex the houses where she loved and their decorations which we all know about. The glamour factor which was not what I was looking for.
Another part neglected was on the war and what she had to do to get her mother to the USA and that important relationship is minimal.

The critically important patent, which underpins so much of modern technology, only shines in about 15% of the book and its invention does not have the technical focus I hoped for but has a focus on the working relationship with the composer.

As a result it did not capture and took long before I finished it and in the end I decided that I really consider it far below expectation

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hedy Lamarr is a fascinating person. I really enjoy realistic fiction, but this book was a little slow for me. It's worth reading based on the life and times of Hedy and the other real life people in the book, but much like Hidden Figures, I found it an interesting subject, but kind of a plodding read.

[Nissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific story about a remarkable woman. This well written story kept me interested from beginning to end, I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction, WWII or Hollywood biographicals. A remarkable woman indeed.

[Peggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing writing.

[Judith A Rinkus]

Heddy Lamarr was an interestingly woman

[Donna Bronski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story...one I'd never heard before. Who knew Heddy Lamarr was so much more than a famous starlette? Beauty and brains, and the major contribution of an immigrant to the US.

[Katja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm being generous giving it a two. It's fiction but reads like a a dry non-fic.

[Paging Snidget · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing lacks vitality. It didn’t draw me in at all.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I need to read The Only Woman in the Room!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about another impressive woman and her contributions to WWII.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7

[Rebecca Mclaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read