Satin Doll: A Novel

318 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/2" x 6 1/4") bound in original publisher's quarter yellow cloth with gilt lettering to spine over red boards ion original pictorial wrappers. First edition with review material laid in. Miller, a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, knows the territory: her depictions of Harlem, Philadelphia s African-American bourgeoisie, and the drug-and-club scene all have an admirable authenticity. But, unfortunately, the story told by her protagonist, Regina Harris, never engages: poor but beautiful Regina needs to demonstrate throughout that even a young woman with a bad past can survive and remain true to herself. Brought up in Harlem, Regina is a model daughter until her widowed mother dies, overwhelmed by coping with Regina s older sister Brenda, a crack addict with a newborn infant. Young Regina tries to take care of baby Renee, but there s no money, and she fears Renee will be put in foster care. Regina starts shoplifting, then doing sexual favors for rich drug dealers, but after she s wounded in the melee surrounding a drug deal turned violent, she decides to go straight. She graduates from college and becomes a remarkably well-paid and successful freelance writer. Still, she can t escape her past, even when she marries handsome Charles Whitfield, a lawyer and the only son of well-to-do black Philadelphians. When Charles runs for Congress, his opponent releases information about Regina s history to the press. The couple weathers the storm, Charles is elected, and Regina gives birth soon after to a daughter. The marriage breaks down, though, when she learns he s been unfaithful. Regina, hanging tough, has her own ideas about revenge and the future. Condition: Fine in like jacket.