That Girl - a gothic based on the popular ABC-TV comedy series...

"She's a frightened young maiden pursued on a haunted moor by a wrathful wraith.  Would you believe she's THAT GIRL" (from the front cover blurb)

 

Of all of the television shows in the world that I would have ever thought could be made into a gothic romance / mystery, the 1966-71 television show That Girl is probably one of the last that would come to mind.  I mean, let's be serious - a comedy television show about an aspiring young actress in New York City, who is forced to take a variety of odd jobs to temporarily make ends meet in between auditions and bit parts.  She is always hoping to make it "big," but never seems to land that starring role in any show.  It was pure comedy that lasted five season, and so it is surprising that someone would take such a premise and turn it into a gothic novel.  But that is just what happened.  In 1971, just shortly after the television show wrapped, Ann Marie appeared in her first, and only, novel (loosely - VERY loosely) based on the show ... 

 

That Girl, besides being the name of the television show and featuring the actress, Marlo Thomas, on the cover, has very little ties to its small screen counterpart upon which it is allegedly based.  While author Paul W. Fairman uses the names - Ann Marie and Donald Hollinger - and the fact that Ann is an aspiring actress, the characters themselves are a far cry from those viewers watched on their television sets each week for the previous five years.  Don't get me wrong.  The story itself is actually pretty good and most definitely gothic in its setting and scenes; however, it feels almost as if Fairman simply replaced the name of his title character with the name of that girl (get it?) in order to create a TV tie-in novel.  Which leads me to question - did he already have this story written (or at least in mind) when he was asked to do the tie-in novel; or did he come up with the idea after he took the job?  In either event, if you can read the story without thinking of Marlo Thomas or the television show, then I think you'll find the story is quite creative and fun to read!

 

I do have to give Fairman some credit with regard to the story - it is definitely a creative twist.  Ann Marie gets a chance to play the role of Cathy in Wuthering Heights in a small Maine town known as Berkeley Heights.  It's a summer stock show, and Ann will have the opportunity to play a lead role - a chance she has been longing for; and the icing on the cake is that all expenses are being paid!  Despite her fiance's misgivings, Ann boards the bus for Maine (where one little old lady looks at her Ann and immediately asks another old lady, "Who is that girl?" - a nice nod to the opening of each episode of the television show.  But it is only the first two chapters that are somewhat light-hearted.  Once Ann reaches Berkeley Heights, she begins to realize something is very wrong.  First, the bus drops her off on an empty stretch of highway, no crossroad, no house, no indication of civilization anywhere near it.  Then, a mysterious stranger on horseback shows up and tells her she is late, before taking off, leaving her to await a coach.  A coach?  Wait, what year is this...?  And why does this set up sound vaguely familiar...?   (Hmmm, perhaps because the same thing occurred during the opening of An Innocent Madness by Dulcie Hollyock nearly a decade later.)

 

Well, Ann soon discovers that someone has gone to great lengths to recreate Thruscross Grange and Wuthering Heights, including the moors, gardens, and grounds.  And what is even more strange is everyone is wearing costumes from the 1800s, and they are all referring to themselves as the characters from Emily Bronte's novel.  At first, Ann thinks they are simply rehearsing for whatever play is going to be performed.  Until she discovers there is no theater.  And the "actors" are afraid to step out of character for even one second.  And there are no dates for any performances of the play.  No, in this secluded part of Maine, someone is determined to bring Wuthering Heights to life and to keep it going ... and going ... and going.  Every actor has literally become their character, and it is expected that Ann will literally be Cathy!  Suddenly, Ann starts wishing she had listened to Donald and never taken the role!

 

In true gothic style, the story takes some dark turns, with a mysterious stranger appearing and disappearing - saving Ann from a deadly fall and leaving her a warning on her bathroom mirror.  Then there is the mysterious woman out on the moors.  And why is it that Ann is so tired all the time?  It seems the more tea she drinks, the more tired she becomes... Gradually, her fellow actors begin to let down their guards, and Ann begins to discover the truth about everyone there and what is really going on - and she realizes there is truly only one way to escape.  But then she comes face to face with the woman she replaced, and let's just say the original "Cathy" is none to pleased about her replacement!  This leads to probably the only disappointing thing about the story - the climactic confrontation with "Cathy" - and unlike most gothic heroines, Ann blacks out and is rescued by Donald in one of those last minute saves.  I was really rooting for Ann to not only solve the whole mystery, but also to conquer the villains; sadly, she becomes nothing more than a helpless victim who has to be rescued (thus, taking away all of the credit she deserves for all of the hard work she put into uncovering the truth about what was really going on there).

 

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the story (especially when I set aside any thought of this being a part of the TV show continuity) and loved the unusual plot twist - a gothic within a gothic, so to speak.  I've heard others speak highly of Fairman's work, and after reading this story, I would have to agree. 

 

8 disappearing telephones out of 10 for taking a television comedy and turning it into a serious gothic mystery with a unique and unexpected turn of events!