Winner of the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Nonfiction Book
“Entertaining, thoughtfully researched and — the ultimate encomium where HGB was concerned — fun.”
—the washington post
Watch the video for Enter Helen, “Cosmopolitan Editor Redefines the Modern Single Woman,” by HarperCollins.
Watch Brooke talk about researching Helen Gurley Brown’s life in the MSNBC documentary A Refuge For Women’s History.
ENTER HELEN
The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman
In 1965, Helen Gurley Brown, author of the groundbreaking bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, took over an ailing Cosmopolitan and soon revamped it into one of the most bankable — and revolutionary — brands on the planet. At a time when women’s magazines taught housewives how to make the perfect casserole, Helen spoke directly to the single girl next door, cheekily advising her on how to pursue men, money, power, pleasure, and, most of all, personal happiness.
In this retro romp that will appeal to fans of Mad Men, journalist Brooke Hauser reveals how a self-proclaimed “mouseburger” from the Ozarks became one of the most influential women of her time. Though she was married, to the renowned movie producer David Brown, no one embodied the idea of the Cosmo Girl more than Helen, who willed, worked, and flirted her way to the top. Bringing New York City vibrantly to life during the sexual revolution and the women’s movement, and featuring a rich cast of characters, including Hugh Hefner and Gloria Steinem, Enter Helen is the riveting story of a polarizing pioneer who bucked convention to define her own destiny, baiting a generation that both revered and rejected her.
PRAISE
“Engaging…. Nimble-footed…. Amusing…. Throughout, Hauser weaves in passages connecting Brown to her contemporaries and the cultural landscape of the 1960s… [to] situate her life in the context of its times.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Brown deserves the biography that Brooke Hauser has written, Enter Helen. It is entertaining, thoughtfully researched and — the ultimate encomium where HGB was concerned — fun.”
—The Washington Post
“Legendary, inimitable Cosmopolitan editor and Sex and the Single Girl author Helen Gurley Brown comes alive in Hauser’s hands.” —Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”
“A must-read piece of proto-feminist history.” —Lenny
“Enter Helen… encapsulates the colorful life of a woman who rocked minis well into her eighties.” —Los Angeles Times
“Reading Enter Helen was like being at a party, and I’m sorry it had to end. With this sexy, riveting book, Brooke Hauser takes us on a joy ride through the 1960s and ’70s of Helen Gurley Brown’s life. Engaging and important.” —Linda Wells, founding editor-in-chief of Allure
“A riveting… complex biography… Such a great read. Enter Helen is neither hagiographic nor damning.” —Washington Independent Review of Books
“A colourful new biography… ” —The Economist
“An engaging, juicy, and edifying read.” —New York magazine
PRESS
Read an excerpt from Enter Helen in Marie Claire.
Listen to Brooke’s podcast with New Books Network.
The Author of Enter Helen on Why Helen Gurley Brown Is Such an Enigma, Vogue
“Helen Gurley Brown was the Original Bad Feminist”—Our Chat With The Author Of Enter Helen, Refinery29
The Sneaky Progressive Feminism of Cosmopolitan, The Week
Notes From Many Years: Helen Gurley Brown’s ideas about women were often as retrograde as the ones she claimed to fight. Why is she still appealing? The Nation
Helen Gurley Brown: Cosmo editor’s quest for glamour, sex and power, The Guardian