We’re incredibly pleased to be wishing The Lady From The Black Lagoon a very happy book birthday!
In this important book, award-winning author and literary podcaster Mallory O’Meara uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick. Patrick was one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters.
The Lady From The Black Lagoon was nominated for both Hugo and Locus awards on its US publication, and we’re absolutely delighted to be bringing it to readers in the UK.
As a teenager, Mallory O’Meara was thrilled to discover that one of her favourite movies, Creature from the Black Lagoon, featured a monster designed by a woman, Milicent Patrick. But for someone who should have been hailed as a pioneer in the genre, there was little information available.
For, as O’Meara soon discovered, Patrick’s contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, her career had been cut short and she soon after had disappeared from film history. No one even knew if she was still alive.
As a young woman working in the horror film industry, O’Meara set out to right the wrong, and in the process discovered the full, fascinating story of an ambitious, artistic woman ahead of her time. Patrick’s contribution to special effects proved to be just the latest chapter in a remarkable, unconventional life, from her youth growing up in the shadow of Hearst Castle, to her career as one of Disney’s first female animators. And at last, O’Meara discovered what really had happened to Patrick after The Creature’s success, and where she went.
A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.
“Not just a story that needed to be told, the exact right person told it. At some point, the book starts to resemble troika dolls: echoes of Milicent Patrick’s life can be heard in Mallory O’Meara’s life, and echoes of Mallory’s can be heard in ours, the readers. It’s then that you realize how profound this book really is.” — Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box
“Mallory O’Meara’s book is a long-overdue tribute to Milicent Patrick, who made her way in Hollywood when women were never given equal standing. Patrick, an artist, actor, and colorful hostess, had an incredible life, and O’Meara lets us know the good and the bad of it.” — Charlaine Harris
“An important, affecting book as much for its larger story of the travails of numberless women in the movie business in general and the horror scene in particular as for the light it shines on the remarkable Milicent Patrick.” — Kim Newman
