Sweethearts.The definitive biography of the two stars and their tragic off-screen romance. Candid, straightforward and hence controversial, this book addresses every rumor about them and debunks once and for all the idea that they hated each other off-screen…or were just platonic friends. It is thoroughly documented, names sources (many of them famous) and has about 50 pages of source notes. You don’t have to be a fan to get caught up in their incredible story. Amazon link Mac/Eddy link
Tesla: Manhattan Dove to Queens Seagull. Adapted from the co-authors’ original screenplay, this book blends fact and fiction to explore Nikola Tesla’s extraordinary influence on modern technology. Tesla invented the electric car and is credited with innovations for nearly 40% of the appliances we use today—including early concepts behind sonar, radio, lasers, ultrasound, and robotics. He also laid the groundwork for television, WiFi, smartphones, and even the Internet. Though history often remembers Tesla as a celibate, eccentric recluse, this book draws on exclusive access to non-public artifacts housed in the basement archives of the official Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia—revealing long-buried inventions, intrigue, murder, and romance. Among the most astonishing discoveries: authentic sketches, notes, and incomplete schematics for a radio device allegedly capable of communicating with the past. (And yes, the book includes the historically accurate MacDonald/Eddy connection and Tesla’s ties to the movies Frankenstein (1931), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Citizen Kane (1941).) Amazon link Website and Audio Book links
Jeanette MacDonald: The Irving Stone Letters. Hundreds of handwritten pages of Jeanette’s own love letters to Irving Stone, the man she dated during her late Broadway years. Irving saved the letters, which were found after his death. Jeanette candidly discusses Broadway and Hollywood gossip, sex, and marriage to someone she’s not certain she loves. In 1927 she worries about pregnancy and setting up trysts behind her mother’s back; the following year she carefully juggles simultaneous affairs with two men…eerily foreshadowing her life in Hollywood a decade later. She discusses various health problems including her earliest documented heart attack in 1929 at age 26. Her letters are transcribed uncensored in their entirety, with many original reproductions. Her writing gives insight into the fiercely determined young singer who went on to become a 1930s Hollywood icon. Even after the affair ended, Jeanette kept writing. She discussed her Hollywood career with him, including co-stars such as Nelson Eddy. Her last correspondence to Irving is dated 1938. Amazon link Mac/Eddy link
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Nelson Eddy: The Opera Years. The most complete study of Nelson’s early career, with many pages reproduced from his own scrapbooks. Many fascinating early interviews and all his reviews for every performance whether concert, opera or oratorio. In some instances, Nelson wrote his own commentary in the margins of the scrapbook pages. Includes a chapter on Jeanette MacDonald’s career as well as an unproduced movie script that Nelson wrote. He hoped to star in duo roles in the biopic, portraying the great Russian opera star Chaliapin, and also playing himself as the young Nelson Eddy who meets his idol in a poignant moment at the film’s end. Amazon link Mac/Eddy link
Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript. Jeanette MacDonald’s unfinished book, written around 1960, includes a color photo section and represents a near-final draft. Every page is marked with her handwritten notes—comments, corrections, and cross-outs—offering a rare glimpse into her thought process. Her collaborator was Fredda Dudley Balling, a prominent figure in Hollywood magazine publishing. The book also contains revealing correspondence from Balling, detailing the challenges of working with Jeanette—both her complex temperament and her declining health—and the later struggle to publish the manuscript after Jeanette’s death, despite opposition from her husband, Gene Raymond. Sharon Rich provides extensive annotations, including a running timeline and fact-checking commentary to clarify or correct claims made—or omitted—in the manuscript. Jeanette candidly discusses her troubled marriage and honeymoon, her near-divorce in 1948, and several additional breakups with Gene Raymond during the 1950s. It was written roughly two years after Jeanette and Nelson Eddy made one final attempt to obtain divorces. All parties had reportedly agreed to terms, but when Jeanette and Nelson arrived at a New York attorney’s office to sign the papers, they discovered that Nelson’s wife had changed her demands at the last minute—insisting on all of his money and future royalties. Unable to accept those terms, Nelson withdrew, and Jeanette’s health deteriorated soon afterward. Amazon link Mac/Eddy link
The Rosary by Florence L. Barclay with new introduction by Sharon Rich – the #1 best selling book of 1911, was tentatively planned as a comeback film at MGM for Jeanette and Nelson in 1948. The story was perfect for them, with middle-aged lovers that also sang, in a Jane Eyre plot. Along with the original novel, Sharon Rich has added an introduction about the author, Florence L. Barclay, as well as the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy connection. In 1948, Jeanette and Nelson were both on separate concert tours but discussing the novel back and forth in letters. These are quoted from as well, as the two stars found great irony in the plot line and their own lives. Amazon link Mac/Eddy link
This hardcover edition is a faithful replica of Sharon Rich’s oversized debut book, originally written in 1973 when she was just nineteen. Celebrated as a beautifully produced “coffee table” volume, it holds the distinction of being the first published biography of MGM star and singer Jeanette MacDonald. It was also the first to correctly document MacDonald’s birth date and to subtly suggest that her relationship with co-star Nelson Eddy extended beyond mere friendship. The 50th Anniversary Edition features a full reproduction of the original photo-filled book, along with a new introduction and an additional chapter. In these new sections, Rich shares the compelling backstory behind the book’s creation—a journey made possible through her close friendship with Jeanette’s sister, actress Blossom Rock, to whom the book is dedicated. Rock provided invaluable support: personal recollections, introductions to key sources, and rare photographs from her own collection. She kept her copy on her night table until her passing five years later. Originally selected by the Movie/Entertainment Book Club, the book earned Rich the distinction of being the youngest author ever to receive that honor. Due to the book’s size, it’s only available at the Mac/Eddy website. Mac/Eddy link
MacDonald/Eddy fans may be interested in Rich’s further research and documentation as provided in the magazines below.
For many years, Rich has served as both editor and lead writer of Mac/Eddy Today magazine, a publication dedicated to documenting and verifying the MacDonald/Eddy story through meticulous research. Originally launched to encourage individuals to come forward and share their firsthand experiences, the magazine evolved into a comprehensive archive of evidence and testimony.
Each issue features fully transcribed audio and video interviews—some of which were briefly quoted in Sweethearts—alongside reproduced legal documents, original letters, eyewitness accounts, and articles detailing specific topics and events in their lives. Contributors include celebrities who knew the stars personally, as well as family members, co-workers, romantic partners, researchers, and devoted fans who followed one or both of them closely.
The magazine also showcases rare photographs, unpublished memoirs, extensive material from the Isabel Eddy letters, and in-depth studies of their careers and all their films, both together and individually. Elaine Blythe, founder of the Film Advisory Board, praised it as “the most beautiful magazine of its kind,” and The People’s Almanac #3 recognized it as one of the nation’s most unique publications.
Mac/Eddy Today continues to release glossy print editions, incorporating newly surfaced information and documentation. Earlier issues were compiled into book form, with four magazines per volume and a new introductory chapter revealing behind-the-scenes developments during the original publication period. All issues from #73 onward remain in print and are available exclusively through the Mac/Eddy website.
Mac/Eddy Today Book Compilations links: Amazon.com maceddy.com
Mac/Eddy Today available single issues link: maceddy.com
The complete Mac/Eddy Today collection link: maceddy.com