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Only Oona
Eugene O'Neill's only daughter.
Café Society's only shining star.
Charlie Chaplin's only true love.
Abandoned by her father as a young child and left to her own devices as a teenager in Manhattan, Oona O'Neill made her own luck. Days spent at an Upper East Side all-girls school were followed by nights on the town with friends Gloria Vanderbilt, Carol Marcus, and Truman Capote. She became an inspiration for Capote's character Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's and boyfriend J.D. Salinger's Sally Hayes in Catcher in the Rye.
Beyond her famous parents, wealthy friends, and stories in the society pages was a brilliant and savvy young woman determined to make something of herself on her own terms. From Bermuda to Florida, New Jersey to Manhattan, and Hollywood to Switzerland, experience the singular life and fascinating times of the enigmatic young woman who would become Lady Oona O'Neill Chaplin.
"There have been so many books about my father Charlie Chaplin. My mother deserves her story to be told. And what better way than through this, Tamatha Cain's book!"
--Jane Chaplin, filmmaker, Daughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill Chaplin
Café Society's only shining star.
Charlie Chaplin's only true love.
Abandoned by her father as a young child and left to her own devices as a teenager in Manhattan, Oona O'Neill made her own luck. Days spent at an Upper East Side all-girls school were followed by nights on the town with friends Gloria Vanderbilt, Carol Marcus, and Truman Capote. She became an inspiration for Capote's character Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's and boyfriend J.D. Salinger's Sally Hayes in Catcher in the Rye.
Beyond her famous parents, wealthy friends, and stories in the society pages was a brilliant and savvy young woman determined to make something of herself on her own terms. From Bermuda to Florida, New Jersey to Manhattan, and Hollywood to Switzerland, experience the singular life and fascinating times of the enigmatic young woman who would become Lady Oona O'Neill Chaplin.
"There have been so many books about my father Charlie Chaplin. My mother deserves her story to be told. And what better way than through this, Tamatha Cain's book!"
--Jane Chaplin, filmmaker, Daughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill Chaplin
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2023
6 people are currently reading
7463 people want to read
About the author
Tamatha Cain
2 books137 followersTamatha Cain is a former musician and bandleader. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Florida with a degree in English. Her work has appeared in national and international publications. Awards include: 2022 Florida Book Award, 2020 Royal Palm Literary Award, and grand prize in The Experience Poetry Competition. She writes reviews for Southern Literary Review, and is a member of Women's Fiction Writers Association, Women Writing the West, WFWA Historical Fiction Affinity Group, and Florida Writers Association. She is a wife and mother of three and lives in a hundred-year-old bungalow in North Florida, in close proximity to the historic locations found in her novel Song of the Chimney Sweep.
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November 11, 2022i like to think that in a past life i was oona o'neill. but i also know that i was never that cool
January 12, 2023
Historical fiction fans will appreciate this detailed and fascinating portrayal of Oona O’Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill and writer Agnes Boulton. ONLY OONA tells a sweeping tale of Oona's life that starts with her childhood in Bermuda, her time in Manhattan as a socialite in her teen years, and ultimately to her move to Hollywood as an actress, that leads to meeting Charlie Chaplin.
As a child, Oona’s famous playwright father, Eugene O'Neil, leaves his family to be with his actress mistress. This sense of abandonment drives Oona, who spends much of her childhood and teen years trying to win her famous father’s attention and approval.
The “hook” to this novel is her marriage at eighteen years-old to Charlie Chaplin. The cover with its dark tones and the red lipstick she was famous for wearing plays with that aspect. But the story of Oona’s teen years is what makes up the bulk of the novel and what kept me turning pages.
As someone who is less familiar with Manhattan in this period of the early 1940s, I found Oona’s time in Manhattan as a teenage socialite fascinating.
To many in her orbit, Oona is an enigma–beautiful with dark hair and bright red lipstick, paired with a much-practiced aloof attitude. She has a studied smile, which gives nothing away. But unlike her young society friends, Oona is aware of the time she’s living, and empathetic to those caught in the war or affected by the depression, making her easy to like.
She befriends and intersects with an array of stars and debutantes from Carol Marcus to Gloria Vanderbilt to Truman Capote, including a dalliance with J. D. Salinger, which leads to a series of fraught love letters after he leaves for the war.
But the reality is that none of her socialite life fulfills what she desperately needs — the approval of a father who continues to ignore her. The author portrays well how this constant push-pull of seeking her father’s approval drives Oona.
Her journey throughout the novel is to accept that she doesn’t need her father’s approval to love herself. When she meets Charlie Chaplin, thirty-six years her elder, she finally finds that confidence, and starts a loving family of her own. Her relationship with him and the challenges they face play out in the last third of the novel.
Overall, Only Oona is a fascinating fictionalized history of a person about whom I knew nothing. The novel kept me engaged from start to end, as I rooted for Oona to grow beyond needing others' approval and learn to love herself.
A satisfying, fascinating read based in real history.
As a child, Oona’s famous playwright father, Eugene O'Neil, leaves his family to be with his actress mistress. This sense of abandonment drives Oona, who spends much of her childhood and teen years trying to win her famous father’s attention and approval.
The “hook” to this novel is her marriage at eighteen years-old to Charlie Chaplin. The cover with its dark tones and the red lipstick she was famous for wearing plays with that aspect. But the story of Oona’s teen years is what makes up the bulk of the novel and what kept me turning pages.
As someone who is less familiar with Manhattan in this period of the early 1940s, I found Oona’s time in Manhattan as a teenage socialite fascinating.
To many in her orbit, Oona is an enigma–beautiful with dark hair and bright red lipstick, paired with a much-practiced aloof attitude. She has a studied smile, which gives nothing away. But unlike her young society friends, Oona is aware of the time she’s living, and empathetic to those caught in the war or affected by the depression, making her easy to like.
She befriends and intersects with an array of stars and debutantes from Carol Marcus to Gloria Vanderbilt to Truman Capote, including a dalliance with J. D. Salinger, which leads to a series of fraught love letters after he leaves for the war.
But the reality is that none of her socialite life fulfills what she desperately needs — the approval of a father who continues to ignore her. The author portrays well how this constant push-pull of seeking her father’s approval drives Oona.
Her journey throughout the novel is to accept that she doesn’t need her father’s approval to love herself. When she meets Charlie Chaplin, thirty-six years her elder, she finally finds that confidence, and starts a loving family of her own. Her relationship with him and the challenges they face play out in the last third of the novel.
Overall, Only Oona is a fascinating fictionalized history of a person about whom I knew nothing. The novel kept me engaged from start to end, as I rooted for Oona to grow beyond needing others' approval and learn to love herself.
A satisfying, fascinating read based in real history.
February 20, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard of Oona O'Neill, but I'm a big fan of historical fiction and biographical novels, and I think this one is a winner. Biographical fiction comes with certain frustrations - we will never know the full story behind mysteries that haven't been solved in real life (so Eugene and Carlotta's inexplicable behaviour will continue to torment me forever) - but it also pretty much guarantees that the story will be complex and feel true to life.
If you're expecting a sexy, salacious tale of high society of the 30s and 40s, look elsewhere - although we do get a peek at the drinking, partying, sex, and betrayals of the time, the book is much more of a "serious" novel about the pain of parental abandonment and the tragically narrow range of options available to women (even wealthy and famous women) at the time. Oona is a delicately drawn, multifaceted character: playful, thoughtful, cautious, and courageous by turns. Instead of turning her into a stereotype, Cain manages to capture the personality and contradictions of a real human. Whether or not you enjoy the book will depend almost entirely, I think, on whether you like Oona. I found her need to love and be loved heartbreaking and her thoughtfulness appealing, but her relationship with her parents was a cycle of poor behaviour that was hard to read about again and again. I can imagine some readers rolling their eyes at the same old story of a damaged celebrity family.
My only critique is that there are far too many typos and errors (e.g. missing words, using the wrong character's name or pronoun in a sentence) for a book at this stage of publication. It is well edited, but begging for another round of proofreading. However, I have the very earliest printing, and I assume these details will be corrected over time. The multiple attempts to work "Only Oona" into the text were cringe and felt forced, but title-dropping seems to be par for the course in fiction these days.
If you're expecting a sexy, salacious tale of high society of the 30s and 40s, look elsewhere - although we do get a peek at the drinking, partying, sex, and betrayals of the time, the book is much more of a "serious" novel about the pain of parental abandonment and the tragically narrow range of options available to women (even wealthy and famous women) at the time. Oona is a delicately drawn, multifaceted character: playful, thoughtful, cautious, and courageous by turns. Instead of turning her into a stereotype, Cain manages to capture the personality and contradictions of a real human. Whether or not you enjoy the book will depend almost entirely, I think, on whether you like Oona. I found her need to love and be loved heartbreaking and her thoughtfulness appealing, but her relationship with her parents was a cycle of poor behaviour that was hard to read about again and again. I can imagine some readers rolling their eyes at the same old story of a damaged celebrity family.
My only critique is that there are far too many typos and errors (e.g. missing words, using the wrong character's name or pronoun in a sentence) for a book at this stage of publication. It is well edited, but begging for another round of proofreading. However, I have the very earliest printing, and I assume these details will be corrected over time. The multiple attempts to work "Only Oona" into the text were cringe and felt forced, but title-dropping seems to be par for the course in fiction these days.
January 4, 2023
Tamatha Cain’s writing style makes this historical novel come to life. I couldn’t put it down!
January 1, 2023
When i grow up, I want to be just like you Oona! 💄
January 13, 2023
A pleasure to read!
If you want to be whisked away to a glamorous world, pick up this novel.
If you want to feel like you’re visiting another era, pick up this novel!
Tamatha Cain has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Oona. This story delights in every way.
I did not know of Oona’s life before this book but now my heart goes out to her. All my love for Only Oona 💙💕
If you want to be whisked away to a glamorous world, pick up this novel.
If you want to feel like you’re visiting another era, pick up this novel!
Tamatha Cain has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Oona. This story delights in every way.
I did not know of Oona’s life before this book but now my heart goes out to her. All my love for Only Oona 💙💕
October 24, 2022
Once again Tamatha Cain has written a compelling, thoughtful book. I planned to read it over a week but could not put it down! Thank you Orange Blossom for the ARC.
April 24, 2023
I'm fascinated by Oona Chaplin the famously silent wife of Charlie Chaplin and daughter of Eugene O'Neill. I've read Aram Saroyan's book about Oona's relationship with Gloria Vanderbilt and Carol Grace. I also read Carol Grace's book about the same subject.
Everyone speaks for and about Oona but she was a very private person who never gave an interview after marrying Charlie Chaplin.
This is one of those strange novels about a real life person. The book guesses at Oona's feelings. It makes up the private dialogue she had with friends, family and lovers. It throws in historical truths along the way to make the story feel like it really happened. Because Ms. Cain is a skilled writer, this novel is readable and the characters are interesting.
Clearly Oona had huge Daddy issues. Why else would she marry a man in his 50's at 18? It would be logical that Carol and Gloria might also have similar problems. The portrayal of Gloria Vanderbilt in this book seemed unfair. Oona slut shames Gloria in her narrative. I understand that the 1940's were harsher on women than now but still I'm happy that Carol is treated more kindly.
This book is very gentle with Charlie Chaplin and extremely hard on William Saroyan. Outwardly, it makes sense that Oona would feel this way. She married Chaplin and stood silently smiling at his side. I wonder though, if Oona ever resented Chaplin. She married at a very young age. Even faithful wives sometimes privately feel trapped. The thing is there's no way of knowing. So much of this novel is completely fictionalized. That's fine. That is how these books have to be. I don't feel that I'm any more enlightened about Oona O'Neill after reading this.
p.s. I personally hope the real Oona wasn't so obsessed with lipstick.
Everyone speaks for and about Oona but she was a very private person who never gave an interview after marrying Charlie Chaplin.
This is one of those strange novels about a real life person. The book guesses at Oona's feelings. It makes up the private dialogue she had with friends, family and lovers. It throws in historical truths along the way to make the story feel like it really happened. Because Ms. Cain is a skilled writer, this novel is readable and the characters are interesting.
Clearly Oona had huge Daddy issues. Why else would she marry a man in his 50's at 18? It would be logical that Carol and Gloria might also have similar problems. The portrayal of Gloria Vanderbilt in this book seemed unfair. Oona slut shames Gloria in her narrative. I understand that the 1940's were harsher on women than now but still I'm happy that Carol is treated more kindly.
This book is very gentle with Charlie Chaplin and extremely hard on William Saroyan. Outwardly, it makes sense that Oona would feel this way. She married Chaplin and stood silently smiling at his side. I wonder though, if Oona ever resented Chaplin. She married at a very young age. Even faithful wives sometimes privately feel trapped. The thing is there's no way of knowing. So much of this novel is completely fictionalized. That's fine. That is how these books have to be. I don't feel that I'm any more enlightened about Oona O'Neill after reading this.
p.s. I personally hope the real Oona wasn't so obsessed with lipstick.
October 30, 2025
Only Oona surprised me with its depth of detail. I knew little about Charlie Chaplin’s last wife beforehand, and I never expected to learn so much about the social elites of the 1940s.
To get a fuller picture, I paired this read with J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had a hunch I’d find traces of Oona in their pages, and I wasn’t disappointed. Sometimes the people who shape others’ lives and legacies remain just outside the public eye, and such was the case with Oona. It was a treat to get an all-access pass to her world and those close to her.
To get a fuller picture, I paired this read with J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had a hunch I’d find traces of Oona in their pages, and I wasn’t disappointed. Sometimes the people who shape others’ lives and legacies remain just outside the public eye, and such was the case with Oona. It was a treat to get an all-access pass to her world and those close to her.
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January 7, 2023Wonderful book. The author is very talented in creating authentic characters. Hard to put down once you start to read.
March 2, 2023
Oona O'Neill Chaplin - what an interesting person, interesting and how did she mature to being a fascinating woman. Basically raising herself - a father who did not want children and a mother who only wanted her children to do well - like marry famous and rich.
The parents would have been reported to CPS - 14 years old and going to nightclubs where the gossip
writers would seen that their names were in the paper. She grew up without a mother most of the time, she lived at Carol Marcus home and they were friends with Gloria Vanderbilt. She stayed friends with them most of her life, however they used her friendship. They cared about dating, impressing people and did not realize what life was about. Other her parents who did not care either.
She was always trying to get her fathers attention - however a stepmother did not allow that to happen. At 18 she met Charlie Chaplin and with in a short time they marry - they turned out to be each others best relationship. By then she had realized the life she wanted and succeeded in getting.
A lot of name dropping as that was her life - but Oona comes across as someone I would like to have known once she let herself grow up. I honestly did not want to put this down.
The parents would have been reported to CPS - 14 years old and going to nightclubs where the gossip
writers would seen that their names were in the paper. She grew up without a mother most of the time, she lived at Carol Marcus home and they were friends with Gloria Vanderbilt. She stayed friends with them most of her life, however they used her friendship. They cared about dating, impressing people and did not realize what life was about. Other her parents who did not care either.
She was always trying to get her fathers attention - however a stepmother did not allow that to happen. At 18 she met Charlie Chaplin and with in a short time they marry - they turned out to be each others best relationship. By then she had realized the life she wanted and succeeded in getting.
A lot of name dropping as that was her life - but Oona comes across as someone I would like to have known once she let herself grow up. I honestly did not want to put this down.
July 5, 2023
I was very intrigued by this book. Having read some books about Charlie Chaplin through the years and his various dalliances with Hollywood actresses, I thought it was time to find out more about his longest marriage and knew very little about Oona O’Neill. I am glad I chose this novel. While this is historical fiction, Tamatha Cain does an excellent job of recounting Oona’s difficult early years and her lack of relationship with her father and introducing the reader to her group of friends who will no doubt be familiar to most. Saving her marriage to Chaplin for later in the book in no way means that the earlier chapters are not every bit as interesting. She also adds a section to the end of the book with vital information about the main characters and what happened to them in later years. An excellent and overdue account of a devoted wife and mother who gave one of Hollywood’s most inventive and controversial actors her heart and made his final years peaceful.
February 1, 2023
Only Oona is a fictionalized biography of Oona O’Neill, beginning with her earliest childhood in Bermuda, her abandonment by her father and neglect by her mother, then mostly focusing on the high-spirited teen years with her friends in Manhattan There are lots of name-drops like Truman Capote, JD Salinger, Gloria Vanderbilt, William Saroyan and Eugene O’Neill. It also briefly covers the years after she married Charlie Chaplin at age eighteen to the end of her life. The book tells the story from Oona’s view – a kind, competent, sensible girl, tethered hopelessly to her persistent dream of somehow gaining the love and approval of her father.
The book is an entertaining and colourful read. However, I was somewhat bothered by the very intimate voice used by the author which feels invasive to the real person that Oona was.
The book is an entertaining and colourful read. However, I was somewhat bothered by the very intimate voice used by the author which feels invasive to the real person that Oona was.
May 21, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed Tamatha Cain’s book “Only Oona.” I was particularly touched by how Oona dealt with abandonment by her father and the absence of her mother during most of her life. Many young women would have allowed this to define their lives in a negative manner, yet Oona is able to keep her balance and emerge a strong woman, able to take on the world. The book is filled with interactions of other notable figures, their personalities revealed from Oona’s point of view, a refreshing change from their public biographies.
September 1, 2024
Only Oona by Tamatha Cain
This is the fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking story of Oona O'Neill, the only daughter of famous playwright Eugine O'Neill. This was a woman I knew nothing about and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about her life. The book tells of abandonment, high society, ambition and finding true love. All Oona really desires is her father’s approval and a loving family. If you enjoy historical fiction this one needs to be on your to be read pile.
D.W. Hogan author of Unbroken Bonds
This is the fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking story of Oona O'Neill, the only daughter of famous playwright Eugine O'Neill. This was a woman I knew nothing about and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about her life. The book tells of abandonment, high society, ambition and finding true love. All Oona really desires is her father’s approval and a loving family. If you enjoy historical fiction this one needs to be on your to be read pile.
D.W. Hogan author of Unbroken Bonds
May 27, 2023
If you want to be whisked away to a glamorous world, pick up this novel. If you want to feel like you’re visiting another era, pick up this novel!
Tamatha Cain has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Oona. This story delights in every way.
I did not know of Oona’s life before this book but now my heart goes out to her. All my love for Only Oona.
Tamatha Cain has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Oona. This story delights in every way.
I did not know of Oona’s life before this book but now my heart goes out to her. All my love for Only Oona.
June 6, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical fiction. I had no idea who Oona O’Neill was, though many of her friends were known to me. The book gives a behind the scenes look at the people featured in the New York and Hollywood society pages, certainly a world not familiar to many people. “All that glitters is not gold.”
July 21, 2024
Vivid details of the life of a privileged young woman, who did not take her standing in society as a reason to avoid being her own person. An enjoyable journey to read.
January 5, 2026
In depth bio of a woman in desperate need of a fathers love. She found that in Charlie.
May 22, 2023
I have always heard about Oona O’Neill on the periphery. She appeared in other biographies on Gloria Vanderbilt and J.D.Salinger. I always wanted to know what would compel an 18 year old woman to marry a 54 year old man other than for financial reasons? This book clearly demonstrates why this would occur.
The book itself depicts Oona as a young woman with a Daddy complex. Hence, the attraction to Charlie Chaplin. who was far more powerful, more wealthy and more famous than her absent, negligent, playwright father, Eugene O’Neill. Charlie and Oona truly loved one another. I have no doubt about this. A perfect match. However, I wish this novel revealed more about their romance and its intricacies as opposed to the ceaseless woes of a weird Electra Complex. We get it: Oona wanted Eugene’s love and attention. It’s a shame it had to be mentioned 95% of the time throughout the novel! Also, from what I understand, the J.D. Salinger romance was far more complex than the author has written. In essence, there were bigger, better stories to tell about Oona than the incessant whining about her father!
Another issue: Oona was too much of a “Mary Sue” in this novel -too perfect, compared to her wild, difficult, friends: Gloria Vanderbilt, Carole Marcus and Truman Capote. No one wants to read about a perfect heroine. The author kept mentioning her beauty but when I googled Oona, she was not that awe-inspiring. I guess you had to be there, during that era, to appreciate her. It’s not like she had the ethereal beauty of an Elizabeth Taylor. Chill out Tamatha Cain.
All in all, I am happy that love prevailed and Oona found her “Happily Ever After”. We all love a great romance. I wish the author wrote more about their union. Sigh. Three stars.
The book itself depicts Oona as a young woman with a Daddy complex. Hence, the attraction to Charlie Chaplin. who was far more powerful, more wealthy and more famous than her absent, negligent, playwright father, Eugene O’Neill. Charlie and Oona truly loved one another. I have no doubt about this. A perfect match. However, I wish this novel revealed more about their romance and its intricacies as opposed to the ceaseless woes of a weird Electra Complex. We get it: Oona wanted Eugene’s love and attention. It’s a shame it had to be mentioned 95% of the time throughout the novel! Also, from what I understand, the J.D. Salinger romance was far more complex than the author has written. In essence, there were bigger, better stories to tell about Oona than the incessant whining about her father!
Another issue: Oona was too much of a “Mary Sue” in this novel -too perfect, compared to her wild, difficult, friends: Gloria Vanderbilt, Carole Marcus and Truman Capote. No one wants to read about a perfect heroine. The author kept mentioning her beauty but when I googled Oona, she was not that awe-inspiring. I guess you had to be there, during that era, to appreciate her. It’s not like she had the ethereal beauty of an Elizabeth Taylor. Chill out Tamatha Cain.
All in all, I am happy that love prevailed and Oona found her “Happily Ever After”. We all love a great romance. I wish the author wrote more about their union. Sigh. Three stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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