What do you think?
Rate this book
The Miranda Obsession
Listening Length 2 hours and 40 minutes
Emmy Award-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan brings to life a thrilling tale of intimacy and self-invention inspired by one of Hollywood’s most alluring stories of the 1980s. Josh Groban, John Benjamin Hickey, Harry Lloyd, Morgan Spector, and Milo Ventimiglia also star, playing some of the most powerful and famous men of the decade, who fall under Miranda’s enigmatic and captivating spell.
Imagine a 1980s world of sumptuous hotel rooms, restaurants, New York City penthouses, and the powerful men who move easily between these pinnacles of luxury. They are music producers, rock stars, writers and restaurateurs. They are household names like Billy Joel, Art Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, and Sting. And yet, each man has an entire aspect to his life that he doesn’t talk about publicly – his depression, his rocky marriage, his feelings of shame and failure, his private loss of faith. And now: the phone rings. Imagine the woman who has each of these men at her beck and call. Late at night, on the other end of the line, she projects a confidence and glamour that immediately disarms them. They don’t know her, but she intimately understands the feelings they’ve never articulated to anybody else, and she muses – low and soft, never making them feel uncomfortable – on what it means that they feel this way, and why. When these men talk to Miranda, they never feel alone. And when she talks to them, she feels alive. Before long, they’re giving her insider tidbits – on new mergers, movies, albums, restaurants – and she’s collecting this information like the currency it is. Then she vanishes, sometimes for weeks at a time, while they wait on edge for her to call again.
Her name is Miranda Grosvenor, and the telephone persona that she has invented: a desirable, connected, compassionate, power player, is the person she lives to be. But who is Miranda, really? As the relationships between Miranda and the famous men she calls escalate, it becomes clear that Miranda may not be who she says she is, and that her game is no longer a game at all.
Set in the glitzy world of 1980s Hollywood. The Miranda Obsession stars Brosnahan as Miranda, along with an A-list cast. By turns enticing and voyeuristic, gripping and empathetic, this complex and nuanced character-driven drama examines the lengths to which we go to achieve intimacy and connection with each other, and the lengths some of us will go to feel something real.
Emmy Award-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan brings to life a thrilling tale of intimacy and self-invention inspired by one of Hollywood’s most alluring stories of the 1980s. Josh Groban, John Benjamin Hickey, Harry Lloyd, Morgan Spector, and Milo Ventimiglia also star, playing some of the most powerful and famous men of the decade, who fall under Miranda’s enigmatic and captivating spell.
Imagine a 1980s world of sumptuous hotel rooms, restaurants, New York City penthouses, and the powerful men who move easily between these pinnacles of luxury. They are music producers, rock stars, writers and restaurateurs. They are household names like Billy Joel, Art Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, and Sting. And yet, each man has an entire aspect to his life that he doesn’t talk about publicly – his depression, his rocky marriage, his feelings of shame and failure, his private loss of faith. And now: the phone rings. Imagine the woman who has each of these men at her beck and call. Late at night, on the other end of the line, she projects a confidence and glamour that immediately disarms them. They don’t know her, but she intimately understands the feelings they’ve never articulated to anybody else, and she muses – low and soft, never making them feel uncomfortable – on what it means that they feel this way, and why. When these men talk to Miranda, they never feel alone. And when she talks to them, she feels alive. Before long, they’re giving her insider tidbits – on new mergers, movies, albums, restaurants – and she’s collecting this information like the currency it is. Then she vanishes, sometimes for weeks at a time, while they wait on edge for her to call again.
Her name is Miranda Grosvenor, and the telephone persona that she has invented: a desirable, connected, compassionate, power player, is the person she lives to be. But who is Miranda, really? As the relationships between Miranda and the famous men she calls escalate, it becomes clear that Miranda may not be who she says she is, and that her game is no longer a game at all.
Set in the glitzy world of 1980s Hollywood. The Miranda Obsession stars Brosnahan as Miranda, along with an A-list cast. By turns enticing and voyeuristic, gripping and empathetic, this complex and nuanced character-driven drama examines the lengths to which we go to achieve intimacy and connection with each other, and the lengths some of us will go to feel something real.
3 pages, Audible Audio
Published April 28, 2022
25 people are currently reading
541 people want to read
About the author
Jen Silverman
25 books177 followersJen Silverman is a New York-based writer. Born in the U.S., she was raised across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Her theatre work includes The Moors (Yale Repertory Theatre premiere, off-Broadway with The Playwrights Realm, Susan Smith Blackburn finalist); The Roommate (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville Humana world premiere, multiple regional productions including South Coast Rep, SF Playhouse and Williamstown Theatre Festival, upcoming at Steppenwolf); Phoebe In Winter (Off-off Broadway with Clubbed Thumb); Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties (Woolly Mammoth premiere); and All the Roads Home, a play with songs (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park premiere).
Jen is a member of New Dramatists, a Core Writer at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, an affiliated artist with SPACE on Ryder Farm, and has developed work with the O’Neill, New York Theatre Workshop, Playpenn, Portland Center Stage, The Ground Floor Residency at Berkeley Rep, and the Royal Court in London among other places. She’s a two-time MacDowell fellow, recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, the Helen Merrill Award, an LMCC Fellowship, and the Yale Drama Series Award. She was the 2016-2017 Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Fellow at the Lark. Jen has a two-book deal with Random House for a collection of stories (The Island Dwellers, pub date May 1, 2018) and a novel. Education: Brown, Iowa Playwrights Workshop, Juilliard.
Jen is a member of New Dramatists, a Core Writer at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, an affiliated artist with SPACE on Ryder Farm, and has developed work with the O’Neill, New York Theatre Workshop, Playpenn, Portland Center Stage, The Ground Floor Residency at Berkeley Rep, and the Royal Court in London among other places. She’s a two-time MacDowell fellow, recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, the Helen Merrill Award, an LMCC Fellowship, and the Yale Drama Series Award. She was the 2016-2017 Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Fellow at the Lark. Jen has a two-book deal with Random House for a collection of stories (The Island Dwellers, pub date May 1, 2018) and a novel. Education: Brown, Iowa Playwrights Workshop, Juilliard.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 354 reviews
January 12, 2023
I'm glad I stumbled upon this short story.
Full review at LucyKnowsThings.com.
Full review at LucyKnowsThings.com.
September 13, 2022
The fact that The Miranda Obsession is based on a woman from Louisiana in the 80's who called herself Miranda Grosvenor and randomly called many famous men late at night and had telephone relationships with them is just crazy. I had never even heard of this story, so down the Google rabbit hole I went. The audiobook cast really gave a fantastic performance which is why I am rounding up. 3.5 stars.
June 9, 2022
Hmm.... Have you ever seen the two season TV show Imposters on Bravo? It was Brilliant, and I loved every second of it! There is a feel about that in this Audible Original. An enigmatic enchanting woman, seems to have a number of powerful men in her grasp. Who is she and why? I liked it well enough. The in-between scene music is repetitively and annoyingly stuck in my head.
I felt it was a solid three. Quick entertainment palate cleanser.
Next Audi0: Marrying the Ketchups
I felt it was a solid three. Quick entertainment palate cleanser.
Next Audi0: Marrying the Ketchups
May 22, 2022
Meh...It's really a disjointed mess of a short story and I think it requires one to read between lines a little too much for me to have really gotten anything out of it. You should really read up on what the Miranda Obsession is...there's a Vanity Fair article that I found when I googled it. I think it might help you enjoy this a little more than I did since I didn't look it up until after I listened to it.
July 28, 2022
3.5!
I am looking at the stars trying to decide if I want to give it 3 or 4 stars. Up to a certain point was a 4, maybe even more, but I was disappointed by what happened with Richard and the ending in general.
It could have been so good if it had a slightly different ending. I liked the resolution in the end, but I can’t get over how Richard reacted. I guess the point Richard fell for an idea and, as much as “Miranda” kept telling him, that was not enough. I was hopeful.
Anyway Miranda was such a great character, and the cast for the audio version did such an amazing job. I am so bad at recognizing voices but I did recognize Milo Ventimiglia… all the times I watched him in Gilmore Girls and in This is Us paid off!
I am looking at the stars trying to decide if I want to give it 3 or 4 stars. Up to a certain point was a 4, maybe even more, but I was disappointed by what happened with Richard and the ending in general.
It could have been so good if it had a slightly different ending. I liked the resolution in the end, but I can’t get over how Richard reacted. I guess the point Richard fell for an idea and, as much as “Miranda” kept telling him, that was not enough. I was hopeful.
Anyway Miranda was such a great character, and the cast for the audio version did such an amazing job. I am so bad at recognizing voices but I did recognize Milo Ventimiglia… all the times I watched him in Gilmore Girls and in This is Us paid off!
May 9, 2022
3.5 Stars. Excellent narration by a cast of gifted actors.
Miranda phones, late at night. She knows everyone and she seems to know how to get secrets, personal information and private thoughts and feelings out of people, things you would never, ever telling anyone else.
And then she does not phone for days or weeks and will never meet in person.
But who is she really, and what does she get from these conversations with the famous men she befriends.
An interesting insight in the dynamics of relationships.
Miranda phones, late at night. She knows everyone and she seems to know how to get secrets, personal information and private thoughts and feelings out of people, things you would never, ever telling anyone else.
And then she does not phone for days or weeks and will never meet in person.
But who is she really, and what does she get from these conversations with the famous men she befriends.
An interesting insight in the dynamics of relationships.
May 2, 2022
I liked the description better than the actual performance. Milo saved it for me. I thought most of the rest were overacting. And I was more disturbed by Miranda at the end than at any other time throughout the story. I am interested to see how this performance compares to the original article.
April 19, 2023
i actually really enjoyed the audiobook production. and the story was really entertaining and easy to follow. Also the fact that it’s based on real events makes it so much more interesting.
p.s: one whole star for milo ventimiglia. wish he does more audiobooks because his voice is absolutely DIVINE.
p.s: one whole star for milo ventimiglia. wish he does more audiobooks because his voice is absolutely DIVINE.
May 6, 2022
This was a very pleasant read, I love the fact that it was very different, not your typical storyline, the narrations and the special effects were everything because they made this book and the story even greater. I felt like I was listening to private conversations of directors, models, writers, and all that beautiful life under Miranda's vision.
Miranda is a fabricated character or a persona made by Withney, someone who definitely has been hurt before I felt like she wasn't really being seen, rejected, and not seen in her daily life she felt the need to feel a connection or something more valuable and tangible than what she already had.
Miranda's story is something that I feel is very relevant to what we're living in today, people wanting to go get connections but not really putting themselves out there being scared of being rejected and ridiculed.
The Miranda Obsession is a book that lets you have a test of what modern relationships are going through, people wanting to feel a connection and being seeing but not being able to do out to the lack of commitment and empathy now at days
Good story, good narration I really like this book
The narrations by Rachel Brosnahan and Josh Groban were great I think that was my favorite part of the book the narration and the effects.
Miranda is a fabricated character or a persona made by Withney, someone who definitely has been hurt before I felt like she wasn't really being seen, rejected, and not seen in her daily life she felt the need to feel a connection or something more valuable and tangible than what she already had.
Miranda's story is something that I feel is very relevant to what we're living in today, people wanting to go get connections but not really putting themselves out there being scared of being rejected and ridiculed.
The Miranda Obsession is a book that lets you have a test of what modern relationships are going through, people wanting to feel a connection and being seeing but not being able to do out to the lack of commitment and empathy now at days
Good story, good narration I really like this book
The narrations by Rachel Brosnahan and Josh Groban were great I think that was my favorite part of the book the narration and the effects.
June 28, 2022
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this free audio book but by the end I actually really enjoyed listening to these phone calls. It's amazing how many famous men could be duped into falling in love with someone they knew nothing about. I found it sad that physical appearance still plays such a big role in our feelings towards someone.
July 4, 2025
Reminded me of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo at times. Good audiobook. Love Milo!
June 26, 2022
This was very interesting on many levels, expanding upon classic human traits.
I won't spoil it for you so I will not associate the character traits with the characters.
So in no particular order:
- Some need validation in their work, ultimately to tell them who they are.
- Others cannot allow themselves to be, as they are afraid that it won't be enough. Or that they won't be accepted / appreciated / loved for who they are.
- Then there is bragging and pretending, lying to appear more interesting, more intelligent or more attractive.
- Being interested in someone because they are interested in them... the list goes on.
This is well studied, raw and honest, and almost incredible that it really happened!
I won't spoil it for you so I will not associate the character traits with the characters.
So in no particular order:
- Some need validation in their work, ultimately to tell them who they are.
- Others cannot allow themselves to be, as they are afraid that it won't be enough. Or that they won't be accepted / appreciated / loved for who they are.
- Then there is bragging and pretending, lying to appear more interesting, more intelligent or more attractive.
- Being interested in someone because they are interested in them... the list goes on.
This is well studied, raw and honest, and almost incredible that it really happened!
June 29, 2022
4.5 stars -- It's hard to give something 5 stars that is a quick 2 hours and 40 minute listen, but dang this is good.
First off, let me say that I love Rachel Brosnahan and everything that she does. Here, she nails the sultry voiced, guru/ingenue/muse Miranda, so much so that I know I will be re-listening to this for years to come, to use the timbre and rhythm of her dialog as a comfort to help calm me down and go to sleep.
But more importantly, this is a fun, exciting story, evidently based on true events from the eighties where a woman somehow becomes a trusted phone friend with several celebrities using a fake persona. I didn't realize this was anything but good ole fiction when I listened to it, and I enjoyed mightily. However, finding out, after the fact, that there were some nuggets of truth amongst all the name dropping made it even better and actually explained some of the more realistic plot twists.
On top of all that, Silverman does some wonderful existential philosophizing and political commentary on men's relationships with women and delves into why we all need a little fiction to get through the day.
First off, let me say that I love Rachel Brosnahan and everything that she does. Here, she nails the sultry voiced, guru/ingenue/muse Miranda, so much so that I know I will be re-listening to this for years to come, to use the timbre and rhythm of her dialog as a comfort to help calm me down and go to sleep.
But more importantly, this is a fun, exciting story, evidently based on true events from the eighties where a woman somehow becomes a trusted phone friend with several celebrities using a fake persona. I didn't realize this was anything but good ole fiction when I listened to it, and I enjoyed mightily. However, finding out, after the fact, that there were some nuggets of truth amongst all the name dropping made it even better and actually explained some of the more realistic plot twists.
On top of all that, Silverman does some wonderful existential philosophizing and political commentary on men's relationships with women and delves into why we all need a little fiction to get through the day.
May 10, 2022
Loved it! Really intriguing and based on a true story.
April 23, 2023
This story is insane and based on real events. After listening, I had to read articles about. Yikes!
October 10, 2022
3.5 for the story, 5 for Rachel Brosnahan’s performance. I just wish there had been more of Luke Kirby.
May 28, 2022
3+ stars.
A narrator that I follow on instagram put this audiobook on my radar by the premise alone. It sounded unusual and very unique. I loved the idea of Hollywood royalty connecting over the phone with a woman that they do not know, but form a strange attachment to without even meeting. But this tory really didn't seem to go anywhere else. We got the phone calls. We got the Miranda stories. We got the secret she kept and the lies she told, but why. Why did she do it??
Even though the story itself wasn't exactly what I was expecting, the narration was amazing!! The full cast of characters and sound effects made the listener become like a fly on the wall during these phone call conversations. I would give this book a listen on the cast itself. Just wish we got more of an ending from Miranda's/Whitney's perspective rather than just cycling all over again.
A narrator that I follow on instagram put this audiobook on my radar by the premise alone. It sounded unusual and very unique. I loved the idea of Hollywood royalty connecting over the phone with a woman that they do not know, but form a strange attachment to without even meeting. But this tory really didn't seem to go anywhere else. We got the phone calls. We got the Miranda stories. We got the secret she kept and the lies she told, but why. Why did she do it??
Even though the story itself wasn't exactly what I was expecting, the narration was amazing!! The full cast of characters and sound effects made the listener become like a fly on the wall during these phone call conversations. I would give this book a listen on the cast itself. Just wish we got more of an ending from Miranda's/Whitney's perspective rather than just cycling all over again.
March 31, 2023
3.25
Honestly Miranda is a woman we should all strive to be I mean to string along all of these men and just be like
is so iconic. I love the plot and everything to do with this book I just wish we were to have gotten Miranada's POV instead of just the men's!
Honestly Miranda is a woman we should all strive to be I mean to string along all of these men and just be like
is so iconic. I love the plot and everything to do with this book I just wish we were to have gotten Miranada's POV instead of just the men's!
May 27, 2022
Well-acted audio drama, but the story itself struck me as a not-quite-fully finished unset mess of a thing. It reminded me of the time I tried making banana cream pie with skim milk, not realizing you need actual cream to make the thing set properly. The pie turned into a tasty-but-odd, lumpy, cold banana soup floating around in a pie crust. Everyone tried to be nice and say it was still delicious, but it just didn’t quite work. That’s how I felt about the Miranda Obsession. What was the point, in the end?
One cool thing about the story is that it is based on true events. You can find an article re the real Miranda Obsession in an old issue of Vanity Fair online. Now that I highly recommend — it’s excellent!
One cool thing about the story is that it is based on true events. You can find an article re the real Miranda Obsession in an old issue of Vanity Fair online. Now that I highly recommend — it’s excellent!
October 3, 2022
Surpassed all of my expectations. I was so curious about the identity of 'Miranda'. It's amazing how men fell for her act over and over again. Give this one a chance, you won't regret it.
January 13, 2023
I have no idea what the point of this was… It was so well performed but the story made no sense. The music between calls was super annoying and unnecessary. The best thing I can say is that it’s short, and definitely the cast elevates it to make it tolerable for the few hours it lasts. Not one I liked but I’m sure others out there might enjoy it.
September 12, 2022
A short book, fantastically narrated, enthralling and strange and downright gripping.
I had low expectations but was thoroughly blown away. Not much more to say for only a 2 hour long listen.
Would highly recommend.
I had low expectations but was thoroughly blown away. Not much more to say for only a 2 hour long listen.
Would highly recommend.
October 2, 2023
Based on a true story, suspense, entertaining and a great cast! (And if you’ve seen 2:22 you’ll recognize the music)
June 25, 2022
I’m so confused on this-I think I need to listen again!
June 16, 2022
3.5 ⭐️ - a quick listen on Audible. I can’t believe this is based on a true story. I really liked it, but wished there was more.
Added: just found the Vanity Fair article on this story. Utterly fascinating - it could be an entire book or TV show.
Added: just found the Vanity Fair article on this story. Utterly fascinating - it could be an entire book or TV show.
December 30, 2023
The Miranda Obsession (J. Silverman): A full (steller) cast audiodrama based on real events and persons. Miranda was a mysterious woman talking on the phone to the stars in the 80s and always reinventing herself. A must listen that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Plus Milo Ventimiglia. You're welcome.
May 13, 2022
Interesting drama, I'm disappointed it's only listed as an audio book, and that seems to mean it's 3 pages long--it seems typically this length of audio book is about 200 pages.
Miranda is a woman who is not quite who or what she seems, but the main issue seems to be is it sinister? Is it a game? What exactly is she hiding--or is she hiding anything really?
I don't want to answer those questions for you, it's worth a listen, if you subscribe to Audible it's currently free, so why not?
Miranda is a woman who is not quite who or what she seems, but the main issue seems to be is it sinister? Is it a game? What exactly is she hiding--or is she hiding anything really?
I don't want to answer those questions for you, it's worth a listen, if you subscribe to Audible it's currently free, so why not?
May 1, 2022
It was free, but too expensive.
Disappointing story about a woman that tricks famous men into spilling their guts of sensitive information. The music at 3 times the volume of the speech was hard to endure. It seems like someone was trying to make it into a podcast, based on the end credits. It would have been a terrible podcast also, that's why they decided to just make it waste two hours and forty minutes. Complete waste of time, however the write-up was spectacular, that's why I thought I'd like it.
Disappointing story about a woman that tricks famous men into spilling their guts of sensitive information. The music at 3 times the volume of the speech was hard to endure. It seems like someone was trying to make it into a podcast, based on the end credits. It would have been a terrible podcast also, that's why they decided to just make it waste two hours and forty minutes. Complete waste of time, however the write-up was spectacular, that's why I thought I'd like it.
September 12, 2023
This book was all the more enthralling knowing it’s based on a true story. Honestly it’s wild, how did she even get the numbers of these high profile men?
Miranda was complicated. I went from hating her, to sympathising with her, then wondering why she hadn’t learned her damn lesson.
The entire time though, all I could think was that these men were either naive, or incredibly self-assured to not even question the stranger they were revealing their secrets to. How could you reveal all of yourself to someone you know nothing about, without thinking yourself utterly infallible.
And how was it only one of these men thought to question her further? Especially when they were all openly talking about her. They quite easily realised that not a single person had even met her. They also literally had someone they actual knew pointing out it was suspicious, but they just dismissed him as crazy. This sounds improbable and made up, but… isn’t?
It was great for a short story and the audiobook production really brought it to life. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it if it went any longer though.
Miranda was complicated. I went from hating her, to sympathising with her, then wondering why she hadn’t learned her damn lesson.
The entire time though, all I could think was that these men were either naive, or incredibly self-assured to not even question the stranger they were revealing their secrets to. How could you reveal all of yourself to someone you know nothing about, without thinking yourself utterly infallible.
And how was it only one of these men thought to question her further? Especially when they were all openly talking about her. They quite easily realised that not a single person had even met her. They also literally had someone they actual knew pointing out it was suspicious, but they just dismissed him as crazy. This sounds improbable and made up, but… isn’t?
It was great for a short story and the audiobook production really brought it to life. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it if it went any longer though.
June 13, 2022
It's sort of cheating to record this as a book when it is really like watching two episodes of a television series (or listening to a podcast). But it was fascinating--an alluring woman calling a set of powerful men and having long insightful conversations with them. I rarely like multi-voice audiobooks but this worked as a sort of radio play and was very effective with the wonderful acting of Rachel Brosnahan in the role of Miranda Grosvenor. The music and other effects worked very well also. Sort of trashy and superficial but also sort of moving and suspenseful and fun. Plus it's short--and free if you have Amazon Prime.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 354 reviews