Single Girls

She made being single a movement — now, her story gets its moment.

 In 1965, Helen Gurley Brown is fresh off the runaway success of Sex and the Single Girl, her revolutionary call to single women not to rush into marriage on anyone’s timeline but their own—and, more radically, to enjoy their sex lives gloriously free of shame. Upon the book’s publication, half the country is outraged (her mother, for one, hates the book), and the other half will follow her anywhere. Moved by the thousands of letters arriving at her doorstep from readers desperate for advice, a determined Helen marches from one Manhattan magazine conglomerate to another, looking for a perch from which to dispense her unconventional wisdom. At her last stop, she finally gets her shot: just three issues to turn around the flailing magazine Cosmopolitan.

She quickly assembles a team of smart, savvy “single girls” up for the challenge. Soon, their lives become the stuff of magazine coverlines: the gorgeous Book Editor’s doomed romance with a man she didn’t know was married—and her audacious plan for revenge. The (unofficial!) Sex Editor’s trip to soak in the world’s first champagne-glass hot tub, which goes spectacularly wrong. The Entertainment Editor’s clash with Joan Crawford and her interview with a Park Avenue call girl that leads to unexpected revelations.

SINGLE GIRLS begins at the dawn of Helen’s legendary tenure and journeys back to her youth, envisioning the devastations and people that shaped her into a controversial legend. With dazzling, high-energy prose, Searles captures not just a movement but a mood: one of ambition, reinvention, and the intoxicating thrill of being young when a new world was possible for a single girl if only she was fearless enough to reach out and grab it.

John was a longtime Cosmo editor, hired by Helen just out of graduate school, making him the perfect person to capture the spirited and irresistible chaos of her reign. Part love letter to an old friend, part celebration of a bygone-but-still-relevant era, SINGLE GIRLS is a deeper look at a beloved and infamous American pop cultural touchstone in its unforgettable heyday.

“A witty, tightly written and a heartfelt portrait of a woman who gripped the nation’s attention by refusing to pity single women — and the world of 1960s New York City’s media empire is equally seductive.”

—LA Times

“A glorious novel of the glossy magazine’s heyday…Searles brings the era and Brown to vibrant life in his breezy and uplifting narrative… It’s a smash!”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Searles’s novel sparkles…A beguiling portrait of a woman who created space—and a market—for women’s voices. Filled with iconic imagery from the era, as well as thought-provoking conversation topics, this novel successfully reintroduces Helen Gurley Brown to a new generation.”

—Library Journal, starred review

“Witty, buzzy, and full of magazine-worthy descriptions of midcentury fashion, Single Girls offers an entertaining look into the world of publishing and a tribute to the unassuming editor who revolutionized women's magazines.”

—Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Exuberantly imagined…Searles’ affection for the period and his characters infuses the novel with the bright energy of a twirly vintage sundress.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Searles has no end of fun…[His] skill as a master of literary suspense gets a playful spin as he parcels out the story with one archly engineered cliff-hanger after another.”

—Oprah Daily

“Brimming with retro New York glamour.”

—The Boston Globe

“Single Girls is an irresistibly fun, sparkling novel that you'll want to binge in one night! John Searles crafts a brilliant portrait of the glamorous, visionary woman who made the culture catch up with American women's real lives—and all the blood, sweat and tears it actually took.”

—Kevin Kwan, #1 NYT bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

“A poignant and rollicking good time...Readers will laugh out loud and shed a tear or two."

—Wally Lamb, #1 NYT bestselling author of She's Come Undone

“Single Girls is effervescent and wry, a sparkling literary cocktail that catapults you back to the glittering chaos of Cosmopolitan’s heyday. With Helen Gurley Brown at its fearless center and a kaleidoscope of unforgettable women orbiting around her, this novel is both a madcap delight and a sharp reminder of how hard-won every inch of progress has been. John Searles has pulled off a dazzling feat."

—Christina Baker Kline, #1 NYT bestselling author of Orphan Train