Like Swans of Fifth Avenue and Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers, Richard
Kirshenbaum's Rouge gives readers a rare front row seat into the world of high society and
business through the rivalry of two beauty industry icons, by the master marketer and chronicler
of the over-moneyed.
Rouge is a sexy, glamorous journey into the rivalry of the pioneers of powder, mascara and
rouge.
This fast-paced novel examines the lives, loves, and sacrifices of the visionaries who invented
the modern cosmetics industry: Josiah Herzenstein, born in a Polish Jewish Shtlel, the
entrepreneur who transforms herself into a global style icon and the richest woman in the world,
Josephine Herz; Constance Gardiner, her rival, the ultimate society woman who invents the
door-to-door business and its female workforce but whose deepest secret threatens everything;
CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial beauty and founder of the first African American woman’s hair
relaxer business, who overcomes prejudice and heartbreak to become her community’s first
female millionaire. The cast of characters is rounded out by Mickey Heron, a dashing, sexy
ladies' man whose cosmetics business is founded in a Hollywood brothel. All are bound in a
struggle to be number one, doing anything to get there…including murder.
Buy now: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250225108
ROUGE Blog Tour Q&A with Richard Kirshenbaum
1. How did you become inspired to write ROUGE?
“I’m part of the first generation of men to have worked for the first generation of female
entrepreneurs and executives. As an ad man, I also ran many cosmetic accounts
throughout the U.S., from Avon to Revlon, and much in between. I was inspired by the
female entrepreneurs who founded the first multi-billion dollar female driven industry,
and was surprised that there hadn’t been a novel about the industry before this.”
2. Can you talk about your research process?
“Over the past thirty years, a lot has been drawn from biographies of well-known people
who run these cosmetics companies. As a novel, Rouge is a compilation of characters
based on women and men who founded these companies. I often draw from those
biographies. I also do an enormous amount of research online. Today vs. 25 years ago,
where you had to go to the New York Public Library, it’s a joy to be able to access so
many articles and books online. I think it’s really important, when writing a period piece,
to understand world events that happened during that time. It’s hard to set a book in the
1920’s and place your character at a bar, if that’s when prohibition was in effect. So
unless you really understand what’s going on in the world, you can’t give an accurate
portrayal. One has to do a year-by-year deep dive if you’re writing historical fiction.”
3. How was the experience of writing ROUGE, a novel, different from your last
book, Isn’t That Rich?, which was nonfiction?
“Essays are mostly observational and contemporary, so I was always intrigued by the
people I know and some of the ridiculous things that occur in a certain group. Creating
fictional characters is actually in many ways more rewarding for me. I believe that when
you create strong characters and come up with a great plot line with characters who
drive the story, it’s fascinating to bring so much life. It’s the ultimate creative process.”
4. Tell us about some of the locations where you wrote ROUGE?
“In the acknowledgements at the back of the book, I include places, as well as people. I
was inspired from writing in different locations. For example, in the villa in Jamaica
where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels. You can rent out the villa, which
includes a manual type-writer, and it’s really inspiring to write in a place like that with
such literary significance. It inspired me to write something worthy. Every time I go
someplace, it adds to the tapestry of what I'm writing about.”
5. What’s the last book you read?
Currently reading: Three Men on a Diet: A Very English Approach to Losing Weight by George
Courtauld
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