Historical fiction based on the life of Hedy Lamarr (nee Hedwig Kiesler), not only her acting career but on her scientific discoveries, including a radio-frequency torpedo guidance system. Born to non-practicing Jewish parents in a wealthy Vienna neighborhood, Ms. Kiesler found early film success in a risqué movie called Ecstasy, but her nudity in the film haunts her efforts to be taken seriously. While performing a play, she catches the eye of a wealthy, older arms manufacturer and dealer, Fritz Mandl, who woos her relentlessly until she agrees to marry him. Once married, though, he insists she give up her acting career, and he virtually imprisons her in their homes. Nonetheless, while their frequent dinner guests see her as a pretty decoration on his arm, none suspects she understands all their talk about weapons and other military secrets. She eventually escapes from Mandl to England and then to Hollywood, where she returns to acting but also begins inventing things using, as a springboard, information carelessly revealed to her during the dinner parties she and Mandl hosted in Austria. Fascinating story. ( )

This is a fictionalized partial biography about the early years (from 1933 to 1942) of the actress Hedy Lamarr. Born Hedwig Kiesler in Austria, the book opens with the beautiful Hedy starring in Sissy, a play about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, at age 19 in Vienna. She has a persistent suitor in the audience, the wealthy weapons manufacturer Fritz Mandl, She agrees to marry him with hopes that he can protect her Jewish parents from the encroaching German Nazis.

Hedy lives a life of luxury - and mostly boredom - with Fritz, who doesn't allow her to continue acting. They host parties for Mussolini, Hitler, and other fascists. Hedy learns a lot about what may be coming to Austria just by listening and playing the role of the decorative wife. Eventually, Mandl's control of her becomes unbearable, and she escapes, ultimately arriving in Hollywood and starting a film career.

Still cast mostly as a pretty face, Hedy finds fulfillment tinkering with inventions. She worked with her friend, the composer and pianist George Antheil, to develop a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used a code (stored on a punched paper tape) to synchronize frequency changes, referred to as frequency hopping, between the transmitter and receiver, reducing the chances that the signals might be tracked or jammed. They actually received a patent for the invention, but it was not adopted by the U. S. Navy - the implication being that it was because Lamarr was a woman, and an actress to boot. That conclusion - and the premise that Lamarr felt compelled to find a solution to the torpedo signal-jamming problems due to supposed guilt over not doing more to stop Hitler's advance into Austria - were rather far-fetched.

Told in first person, I was disappointed with the writing in this book. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it and learned more about Hedy Lamarr's background and invention. ( )

Interesting story. Writing isn't great. Doesn't really focus on what, if anything, makes her great. ( )

The Only Woman in the Room was a major disappointment. A fictionalized account of Hedy Lamarr following her life in Austria during the 1930’s and her immigration to Hollywood, has all the stuff of compelling literature. When you add her spying/invention contribution during the early days of WW2 you’d think how could the author go wrong. The sterile writing and languishing story line are the culprits. Better to read a non-fiction account of this amazing woman. ( )

I found the story of Hedy Lamarr, which I didn't really know prior to this novel, completely fascinating. Not just a film starlet, Hedy was an Austrian Jew, married to a fascist warlord prior to escaping to the US where she invited frequency hopping. It's a story of transformation from resignation and despair to claiming agency. But I think I would have rather read an actual biography than a fictionalized pseudo-biography. I don't really enjoy real-person fictionalizations and I found Benedict's dialogue quite twee. ( )