SOULS SALE

by Rupert Hughes

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

405 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Hughes was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer.

Reviews

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Souls for Sale is available as a free, legal download through Archive.org.

This book was a bestseller in the 1920s and was made into a silent movie as well. I started to read this for research, thinking I would skim through, but I was pleasantly surprised. While it does feel slow and overwritten in parts--especially at the beginning--Remember Steddon is a fantastic character to follow. I didn't expect a book from this time to portray a woman's circumstances this well, or to so thoughtfully consider the morality issues around Hollywood and conservative churchs' view of it. Remember is in melodramatic circumstances at the start; she's a preacher's daughter, pregnant out of wedlock, and her baby's father is killed in a tragic accident. Her town doctor, a stalwart ally, encourages her to head west, contrive a fake marriage and a soon-dead husband, so she can return to her small southern town with her reputation intact. Of course, Remember botches this plan in wince-worthy ways, but eventually she ends up as a new Hollywood star.

Something I loved about this book was that, in the end, this was not a book about Remember finding a man who understands and forgives her for her past sin, and marries her in a Happily Ever After. No, through the course of the book, Mem does consider some men, but in the end, she is empowered and refuses to settle for anyone. She realizes that she owns her own soul.

I hope to watch the silent movie soon; it's on YouTube. I'm curious about how it can handle the deep issues of the book.

[Veronica Jauregui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember “Mem” Steddom is a preacher's daughter in a small town, pregnant out of wedlock, and her baby's father laid out by a terrible accident. Her doctor, seeing her anguish over her situation, encourages her to head west and arranges a plan to fake a marriage and have her made up husband die, so she can return home with her reputation intact when she comes back with a baby. But the plan soon gets thrown out the window when she lands on a Hollywood set and becomes an extra on the film. When she starts to rise in the film scene, her past comes back to haunt her.
The story at times is written very melodramatically but was such a page turner. Mem learns she wants to live life her way, not the way her parents or her town thinks it should be. She wants to be a wife and mother but isn’t a rush or even fearful of it anymore.

[Alyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. The character development and story of Remember Steddon brought the reader in and didn't let them go. This book was definitely a page-turner. I loved this book and would 100% recommend it. Great read.

[Hannah Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked it enough to read to the end, but I skimmed about 80% of it and was eager to finish. The premise is great but the execution...not too much. Maybe it can be put down to the writing style of the time (1922), but it's so over-the-top it's difficult to enjoy.

[sully · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb is inaccurate and I think it’s actually the plot of the silent film that Hughes wrote based on the film a year later. Regardless, Mem’s journey away from her restrictive reigious life into the movie business is a fun and informative insight into the world of 1920s Hollywood.

[Easy B.]

proofread/previewed for LARB