Bettie Page: Life of a Pinup Legend.

Karen Essex is the first and only journalist with whom the reclusive Ms. Page has ever agreed to meet and cooperate.
The ultimate girl-next-door, and one of the most popular Playboy centerfolds, Bettie Page challenged the conservative 1950s, posing alternately as the girl next door and a fierce dominatrix, earning both a cult underground following and a Senate Committee investigation.
This book chronicles Page’s life and career, telling the incredible story of a woman who has left an indeliable mark on the history of popular culture.
500 photos.

MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Needle’s Eye

First Edition Pharaoh – Signed Hardcover

Signed Books, Gifts, and Merchandise

Shop signed books directly from Karen, discover special editions, gifts, and merchandise, and arrange book orders for clubs, salons, and speaking events.

History. Sex. Power.

Enter the world behind the books: history’s dangerous women, untold stories of sex and power, new releases, private essays, speaking news, and invitations from Karen Essex.

Get updates in your inbox.

Testimonials

“Essex’s work overflows with war, sex, political intrigue and the fruits of her assiduous research.”

Publishers Weekly

“Karen Essex has a gift for humanizing the so-called bad girls of history, and she does it again in Run, Darling, the fascinating, untold story of the glamorous Gabor harrowing sisters’ escape during WWII”

Stephanie Dray, NYT Bestselling author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette
& co-author of A Founding Mother

“Run, Darling is a splashy soap opera romp of a good time, with surprisingly serious themes of sisterhood, family, and the danger of being a woman who knows her own mind.”

Kate Quinn, NYT Bestselling author of The Rose Code,
The Briar Club, The Diamond Eye

“Kleopatra is keenly researched and brimming with exotic, erotic detail. Essex’s style is as seductive as her subject.”

Dallas Morning News

“Pharaoh, the stunning sequel to Kleopatra completes the story of one of the most celebrated, audacious, and admired women the world has ever known.”

Library Journal

“Stealing Athena firmly entrenches Karen Essex as one of the top historical novel writers of our time.”

Bookreporter.com

“Brilliant. Sweeping. Breath-taking. Dracula in Love, Essex’s journey into the social expectations of Victorian women through the telling of the Dracula story is genius.”

Book Banter

“Leonardo’s Swans is historical fiction at its finest.”

St. Petersburg Times

“Renaissance Rivals is a riveting sequel to Leonardo’s Swans, featuring two of history’s most powerful and alluring women.”

Laura Lane McNeal, Bestselling author of Dollbaby

“Karen Essex has performed a mesmerizing feat. Kleopatra is both deeply informed and irresistibly sexy.”

Bruce Feiler, NYT Bestselling author of Walking the Bible & A Time to Gather

“In Leonardo’s Swans, acclaimed author Karen Essex spins a wild yarn about sexual politics and the struggle for immortality.”

Harper’s Bazaar (“Hot Reads” pick)