Typewriter Beach: A Novel
Instant USA Today Bestseller · Washington Post 5 Works of Historical Fiction to Read This Summer · Top 10 Library Read · Los Angeles Times 10 Reads for a Beach Day · Publishers Weekly Summer Read · Woman’s World Book Club Pick · Zibby Books That’ll Make You Swoon · AARP Summer Read
Set in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Hollywood during its golden age, Typewriter Beach is an unforgettable story of the unlikely friendship between an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock’s new star.
1957. Isabella Giori is ten months into a standard seven-year studio contract when she auditions with Hitchcock. Just weeks later, she is sequestered by the studio’s “fixer” in a tiny Carmel cottage, waiting and dreading.
Meanwhile, next door, Léon Chazan is annoyed as hell when Iz interrupts his work on yet another screenplay he won’t be able to sell, because he’s a blacklisted screenwriter. Soon, they’re together in his roadster, speeding down the fog-shrouded Big Sur coast.
2018. Twenty-six-year-old screenwriter Gemma Chazan, in Carmel to sell her grandfather’s cottage, finds a hidden safe full of family secrets―raising questions about who the screenwriter known simply as Chazan really was, and whether she can live up to his name.
In graceful prose and with an intimate understanding of human nature, Meg Waite Clayton captures the joys and frustrations of being a writer, being a woman, being a star, and being in love. This captivating dual timeline novel is the story of two women separated by generations―a tale of ideas and ideals, passion and persistence, creativity, politics, and family.
From the Publisher
Customer Reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars 3,519
4.6 out of 5 stars 3,396
4.2 out of 5 stars 699
Price
$14.99$14.99 $9.99$9.99 $11.82$11.82
Publisher : Harper
Publication date : July 1, 2025
Language : English
Print length : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 006342214X
ISBN-13 : 978-0063422148
Item Weight : 15.3 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #75,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #791 in Women’s Friendship Fiction #1,429 in Women’s Domestic Life Fiction #4,769 in Literary Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (527) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Original price was: $30.00.$13.32Current price is: $13.32.
Instant USA Today Bestseller · Washington Post 5 Works of Historical Fiction to Read This Summer · Top 10 Library Read · Los Angeles Times 10 Reads for a Beach Day · Publishers Weekly Summer Read · Woman’s World Book Club Pick · Zibby Books That’ll Make You Swoon · AARP Summer Read
Set in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Hollywood during its golden age, Typewriter Beach is an unforgettable story of the unlikely friendship between an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock’s new star.
1957. Isabella Giori is ten months into a standard seven-year studio contract when she auditions with Hitchcock. Just weeks later, she is sequestered by the studio’s “fixer” in a tiny Carmel cottage, waiting and dreading.
Meanwhile, next door, Léon Chazan is annoyed as hell when Iz interrupts his work on yet another screenplay he won’t be able to sell, because he’s a blacklisted screenwriter. Soon, they’re together in his roadster, speeding down the fog-shrouded Big Sur coast.
2018. Twenty-six-year-old screenwriter Gemma Chazan, in Carmel to sell her grandfather’s cottage, finds a hidden safe full of family secrets―raising questions about who the screenwriter known simply as Chazan really was, and whether she can live up to his name.
In graceful prose and with an intimate understanding of human nature, Meg Waite Clayton captures the joys and frustrations of being a writer, being a woman, being a star, and being in love. This captivating dual timeline novel is the story of two women separated by generations―a tale of ideas and ideals, passion and persistence, creativity, politics, and family.
From the Publisher
Customer Reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars 3,519
4.6 out of 5 stars 3,396
4.2 out of 5 stars 699
Price
$14.99$14.99 $9.99$9.99 $11.82$11.82
Publisher : Harper
Publication date : July 1, 2025
Language : English
Print length : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 006342214X
ISBN-13 : 978-0063422148
Item Weight : 15.3 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #75,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #791 in Women’s Friendship Fiction #1,429 in Women’s Domestic Life Fiction #4,769 in Literary Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (527) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
8 reviews for Typewriter Beach: A Novel
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Original price was: $30.00.$13.32Current price is: $13.32.
Amazon Customer –
More than a love story…a LIFE STORY!
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! I LOVE THIS AUTHOR!!! Meg Waite Clayton is my new favorite author!
c chiang –
Good story
Didn’t think I would like this when I started it but it turned out to be a good readI found myself really caring how things would work out for all the characters and i liked the way the connections were made between characters in the 2 time periods
a reader –
Half of a good book. Read the 1957 chapters. Skip the rest. Spoilers!
I wanted to love this, but there were too many puzzle pieces, incomplete information, lack of historical context topped off with #me too jammed into an already crowded mess. The basic story is of a 1950s contract ingenue banished to a studio cottage in Carmel next door to a blacklisted screenwriter who share secrets. That’s a sufficient sweet story that could’ve been well written and emotionally satisfying. However, a 2nd story about the screenwriter’s granddaughter who returns to prepare the cottage for sale after his death is unnecessary & her chapters turn what had been an interesting if confusing read into a ham fisted #me too/Women Aren’t Recognized in Hollywood (or gaming world) treatise that’s already been addressed many times in far better ways. The sexual abuse trials, convictions, & imprisonment of “ugly” Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault are omitted probably because it doesn’t fit the narrative that men still get away with it while Gerta Gerwig didn’t win an Oscar. The original story already has a gay-in-1950s Hollywood, Holocaust refugee, wrongful blacklist, suicide, and excruciating details of studio-directed abortions for its careless actresses. The granddaughter’s baggage that extends beyond #metoo is just bloat. My recommendation is to read the 1957 chapters and you’ll have an interesting read. Skip the 2018 chapters.BTW, the grandfather is consistently referred to as “Gran” by his granddaughter. In the early going when characters are introduced, I couldn’t follow whether she had a grandmother or not & it continued to bother me throughout the book. It’s jolting. Maybe the author was making a gender point, but it was annoying. Again, I wonder how all the acknowledged editors mask a basically good story.
Amazon Customer –
I love this book!
My goodness Meg! This wonderful book grabbed my interest and my heart from the very beginning. The dual timelines, the story of early Jewish family separations and losses, the McCarthy era blacklisting of Hollywood writers and actors, and the familiar to me backdrop of Carmel that really hasn’t changed much over the years. I could smell and feel the wonderful ocean breeze due to your complete but not overwhelming description. And the characters? Oh my, they became so real. I highly recommend this book after listening to the audio version along with the ebook. Now, I will add the hardbound copy to my limited home library.
Elayne Coppage –
Good Read
A good read. The story kept me interested until the end even though I don’t know French.
Christine –
Another wonderful detailed historical fiction novel.
Another wonderful detailed historical fiction novel.A dual time line. Hitchcock, Hollywood, the Blacklist, love, secrets and the mention of old Hollywood names that I have enjoyed over the years make this one enjoyable.We have all heard about the casting coach as secrets run deep.
Older Mom –
A Memorable Novel
You will find this book more interesting if you already know some of the history of Hollywood. Well crafted, with perhaps too many mysteries initially withheld by the author and then revealed and not revealed or perhaps dismissed as coincidences. I struggled with a Grandfather referred to as “Gran,” which I thought might be because the author wasn’t American, as well as a later description of an important character dozens of pages after his eyes were described as the color of a Golden Retriever’s. The novel has reasonable complexity, and the author does an excellent job bringing to life the tensions of the blacklist era of Hollywood, which feels closer and closer to today these days. I often don’t like books about writers or movies about Hollywood, but this one had great atmosphere and held my attention. Congratulations to the author.
Amazon Customer –
Don’t miss this one.
Well written. Great story. I was transported.