It was an exhilarating read, in its hugely impressive range of references, the unexpected connections it made, and the wide range of films it considered. This is a major study which advances the theorization of melodrama, celebrity culture, and the relationship between the two.

Sue Thornham, Professor of Media and Film Studies , University of Sussex, UK

Here is one of the most astute uses of melodrama theory to analyze popular fiction film, documentary, and television as well as events in popular circulation to have been produced in recent years. It is a work of subtle wit and sharp insight that carries over a tradition at the same time that it supplements it significantly.

Jane Gaines, Professor of Film, University of Columbia, USA

Mandy Merck's exploration of the charms and pitfalls of a self-worth to be gained through the public attention celebrity affords in our media saturated culture is truly an eye-opener. Witty yet scrupulous in its analysis of texts ranging from Rousseau's theatrical melodrama Pygmalion to Dreiser's stardom novel Sister Carrie, from the renown tramp in Chaplin's City Lights to royal prestige in Frears' The Queen, and culminating in the news notoriety of former congressman Anthony Weiner and whistleblower Edward Snowden, it dissects the long cultural history that has made fame such an interesting thing – on the page, the stage, the screen and in politics.

Elisabeth Bronfen, author of Crossmappings. On Visual Culture