The World Is Full of Married Men

The World Is Full of Married Men is the debut novel of British author Jackie Collins, first published in 1968 by W. H. Allen & Co. Plot summary Set in London in the swinging sixties, middle-aged advertising executive David Cooper cheats on his wife Linda. When he meets the young and beautiful Claudia Parker, David wants to marry her. However, Claudia has different ideas; she wants to be a model, an actress, and a star. When Linda finds out about the affair she ends the marriage and files for divorce. At first protesting, David finally relents and moves into an apartment with Claudia. After six months however, the pair are sick of each other and now that the divorce is finalized, Linda has started seeing Hollywood film producer Jay Grossman. Realizing his mistake in letting Linda go, David fails to win her back and falls into an alcoholic stupor that renders him virtually impotent and only able to perform with his mousy spinster secretary, Miss Fields, who ultimately falls pregnant with his child. Reaction Without a literary agent but with the strong support and encouragement of her husband, Collins sent off the manuscript to a publisher. By this time, Jacqueline Susann's similarly themed novel Valley of the Dolls (1966) had already become a huge bestseller and a hit film, and Collins' novel was accepted. Within a week of its publication, The World Is Full of Married Men made the best-seller list.