Cover image of "Wake Up and Dream," an alternate history of Hollywood

Hollywood, June 1944. Europe is still at war, with England about to fall to Hitler’s legions. In the United States, FDR readies a run for a third term as the fascist Liberty League gains ground across the land. Everywhere, people are flocking to the theaters to take in the newest “feelies,” introduced a dozen years ago. Just as the “talkies” replaced silent films, displacing the stars of the older format, so too has it been with the feelies. Clark Gable, rising to stardom in the early 1930s, has long since faded from memory. He now ekes out an existence as an unlicensed, low-rent private investigator. He spends his time photographing errant husbands and wives in compromising situations. But Clark is about to take on the biggest role of his life, and not at a studio. Which begins the enthralling story in Ian MacLeod’s alternate history of Hollywood, Wake Up and Dream.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The biggest role of Clark Gable’s life . . . off-screen

A woman named April Lamotte has sent Clark a more than generous advance of $50—about $850 today—to meet her at her mansion in the hills. And what a mansion it is! It turns out that the sexy Mrs. Lamotte is the wife of the most famous screenwriter in Hollywood, Daniel Lamotte. He’d written the screenplay for the greatest feelie hit ever produced, and obviously made a lot of money.

What this beguiling woman wants of him is simple: “I want you to play my husband.” And she’ll give him $1,000 for Clark to impersonate Dan Lamotte for a few hours. He’s to meet her tomorrow morning, accompany her to a lawyer’s office, and sign a contract for Lamotte’s newest screenplay, “Wake Up and Dream.” Simple, right? But of course it’s not.

Wake Up and Dream by Ian R. MacLeod (2011) 338 pages ★★★★☆

Photo of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, a production which flopped in this alternate history of Hollywood
Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 blockbuster film, Gone With the Wind. Image: Metro-Golden-Mayer via Encyclopedia Britannica

What’s going on here?

So, you read a lot of thrillers, and right away you know something’s up. Bad guys will surface. There’s going to be a murder. Maybe lots of them. And poor Clark Gable’s going to be caught in the middle. Possibly even be a victim himself. And you’re probably also going to suspect that the author wouldn’t have written so much about a new technology and fascism gaining ground in America unless they both figure into what’s going on here. And so it is. You’re on the right track.

Advice to the unwary

Fair warning: if you’re offended by bigoted references to people’s race of ethnicity, even if the context makes entirely clear why the author includes them, then don’t read this novel. There’s lots of nasty language here. Because, in the final analysis, using it helps drive home the point MacLeod was driving at. This is, after all, an alternate history of Hollywood.

About the author

Photo of Ian R. MacLeod, author of this alternate history of Hollywood
Ian R. MacLeod. Image: From Earth to the Stars

The British science fiction and fantasy author Ian R. MacLeod was born in 1956 near Birmingham. He studied law and worked as a civil servant before going freelance in early 1990s. To date, he has published seven novels and eight collections of short stories. MacLeod has won numerous awards for his writing. For more perspective on him, you might turn to his long, rambling autobiographical post on his website.

This is one of the Great mysteries about Hollywood.

Be sure to check out Great alternate history novels and Top Los Angeles mysteries and thrillers.

For more good reading, see:

And you can always find my most popular reviews, and the most recent ones, on the Home Page.