Marblehead author Tonya Walker is launching her book, “Slim and the Notorious Mrs. Churchill,” this month. The novel is a work of historical function that offers readers a glimpse into the glamorous and treacherous social world of New York and Paris in 1958.
This story will resonate with fans of Ryan Murphy’s recent award-winning television series, “Feud: Capote Versus the Swans.” Set among the wealth, ambition and shifting alliances of postwar high society, the novel centers on Pamela Churchill, the notorious mistress to millionaires. At 39, facing another failed love affair, dwindling finances and the unrelenting pressures of age and reputation, Pamela knows she needs a wealthy husband — and quickly.
Having cycled through eligible prospects across Europe and the United Kingdom, she sets her sights on the New World.
Walker’s characters are the Mean Girls of their day, but she notes, “That day was full of attractive people in attractive places doing attractive things.”
Walker turns what could have been a familiar tale of romantic rivalry — Mrs. Churchill Harriman reportedly stealing Slim Hayward Keith’s husband — into a broader exploration of women’s friendships and rivalries.
“When you have been trained and raised not to fight, and those emotions are all still highly present, women learn to subvert them,” Walker told the Current. “If these are the only tools you have, what else do you do? These are extraordinary women — but small.”
Though the novel is rooted in history, much of the story comes from Walker’s imagination. Her fascination began with a 1990 Vanity Fair article, “Forever Slim,” which led her to read Keith’s memoir, “Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life.”
“From the outside, from the photographs, this looks like the most incredible world,” Walker said. “Everything looked magical through that tiny camera lens. Everyone was rich and beautiful.”
Walker came to writing through teaching, which she says requires many of the same skills: planning, structure and careful communication. Her writing career includes several projects where the focus was primary, but it wasn’t until her MFA program that she began writing seriously.
Her thesis, “A Monologue from Hell,” focused on Slim Keith and became the basis for “Slim and the Notorious Mrs. Churchill,” as well as her Substack channel (tonyaewalker.substack.com). She has also written a young adult novel and a romcom — “more com than rom,” she says — and continues submitting work to literary journals. Her next project is another book on Babe Paley, the second in what she calls her “Slim series.”
Walker lives in Marblehead, having previously lived in Richmond, Virginia; New York City and Toronto. She runs Abbot Hall Properties, a small business focused on buying, renovating and renting homes. She served as secretary of the Abbot Public Library Foundation Board and now enjoys Marblehead’s lighter civic life: “That means pickleball at Seaside with the Seaside Netters, Mahjong around neighbors’ kitchen tables, an ever-expanding book club launched with my next-door neighbor, and, of course, participating in Marblehead’s most time-honored tradition: escorting my golden retriever, Lou, from one generously stocked treat jar to the next.”
Walker says promoting the book has been a joy, particularly as women readers respond enthusiastically.
“I hope it’s a lively read, with sharp dialogue and plenty to talk about,” she said. Book clubs are her ideal audience; she’s already scheduled readings with five clubs in Marblehead. Upcoming promotional events include a Dress Like a Swan party and a potluck dinner.
“When my pickleball group meets with my Mahjong and book club friends, look out! I feel very lucky to be so well supported,” Walker said.
Walker will give a talk on “Slim and the Notorious Mrs. Churchill” at Abbot Public Library on Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The book is available at Saltwater Books.
