Although, having said that, it is true that many engineered their own downfall through their demanding ways. In the end the studios were only too happy to let them go, particularly if another diva was on the rise, snapping at their heels wanting a piece of the action. The most tragic tale of the lot for me was Mae Murray. Mae was a huge star of the silent films in the 1920s, famous as much for her glittering parties as for her films. When the talkies came along, and Mae was well into middle-age by then, her services were no longer required. Within a few short years she was reduced to sleeping rough on a bench in Central Park. Eventually, because of a stroke, she lost her mind and, like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard", believed she was still a big star, using the reality-defying logic that "a star is always a star". I found this almost unbearably sad. What is reassuring though is that our present-day diva's seem to have a much better chance of surviving gracefully than their predecessors. A bit of scandal or a few duff movies can no longer finish someone's career for good, and we tend to be much more tolerant of our celebrities foibles. Somehow I can't see Britney or J.Lo ending up like Clara Bow or Mae Murray. I hope! My only real gripe about the book is the choice of photographs. The publishers seem to have gone out of their way to find the most dreary or unflattering pics they could find. Considering the amount of glamour these ladies all generated between them I find this quite extraordinary!