Shadow and Substance: My Time with Charlie Chaplin

Shadow and Substance: My Time with Charlie Chaplin

A fascinating story that bridges two worlds: Hollywood today and during the 1930's. Cooper Thiery, an unknown writer, is hired to write a revealing documentary about Charlie Chaplin, a man whom he has studied and idolizes, and who died over twenty years previously. The assignment quickly becomes a conflict of loyalties, as Cooper finds himself torn between his drive to succeed and his desire to protect Chaplin. Cooper must decide what best defines Chaplin: the films he created or his personal life.<br />Enter Charlie, now confronting the man whose job it is to discredit his legacy. Together Charlie and Cooper explore today's and yesterday's LA, from the Brown Derby and Musso & Frank Grill, to Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Along the way familiar figures emerge, including Fatty Arbuckle, William Randolph Hearst, and Doug Fairbanks.<br />With a fondness for Chaplin and a knowledge of his times, Gerry Mandel has brought two worlds together in a compelling story.<br /><br />“SHADOW AND SUBSTANCE: MY TIME WITH CHARLIE CHAPLIN”<br />BRIEF EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS<br /><br />“Gerry Mandel’s time-traveling Shadow and Substance exhibits both an abiding affection for Chaplin’s little tramp and a deep knowledge about the world and art of his creator. As an added bonus, it’s a thoughtful meditation on the dilemmas facing the biographer who admires the artist he’s researching.”<br />Charles Maland, Prof. of Cinema Studies, U. of Tennessee<br /><br />“In this story within a story, Mandel doesn’t just explore the life of the legendary Charlie Chaplin, but takes the bold step of placing him in the action, allowing Chaplin himself to answer to the controversies that continue to surround his extraordinary life. It is a dangerous literary device in the hands of an accomplished writer and Mandel is up to the task.” Dan Fenton, Bookscape<br /><br />“Gerry Mandel's debut novel "Shadow and Substance: My Time with Charlie Chaplin" melds the genres of love story, mystery, and time travel while tracing layers of creative process. Most of all, though, Mandel's novel is an old-fashioned morality tale for this age.” Janet Riehl, RiehlLife.com<br /><br />“It's a most improbable story --but Gerry Mandel just pulls us through it.<br />You get drawn into the place and time, the Los Angeles of the 1920s and 30s. And you learn facets of Charlie Chaplin you never knew about."<br />Herbert Krill, Hollywood Correspondent for German TV<br /><br />“... an entertaining trip to the glory days of Hollywood and an interesting exploration of the human desire to uncover unsavory facts about respected figures.” Jennifer Alexander, West End Word<br /><br />“...rich in detail and characterization, for both the famous (I'd love to meet this book's version of Chaplin's beefy co-star Mack Swain) and newfound (the many underlings who swirl in McDaniels' orbit). The reader comes away with a new respect for Chaplin and for celebrity in general.” Steve Bailey, Chaplin-Yahoo Groups, Jacksonville, FL