From Riches to Rags
The Oil Tycoon Who Married His Adopted Daughter, and Their Tragic Decisions
A book that will transport you back in time
Power, Ambition, Love, and Ruin
The Turbulent Journey of the Marlands
Experience the rollercoaster journey of oil tycoon E.W. Marland and his adopted daughter-turned-wife, Lydie, in Gary Robert Pinnell's gripping book, "The Madness of E.W. and Lydie Marland".
Soon to be published.
Follow the meteoric rise and calamitous fall of Marland's empire, which once commanded one-tenth of the globe's oil reserves. Immerse yourself in the scandalous marriage that shook America, the corporate takeover by J.P. Morgan Jr. that turned Marland OIl into Conoco, and the loss of E.W.'s personal fortune during the infamous 1929 stock market crash. Witness E.W.'s bold, yet doomed, ventures into politics.
Watch as the taboo relationship with her adoptive father drives the beautiful Lydie from socialite, to emotional disorders, to recluse. Read never-before-published letters that cast new light on the lives of this enigmatic pair. The Madness of E.W. and Lydie Marland is an exhilarating tale of ambition, power, love, and the ephemeral nature of fortune.
He and his wife, Virginia, were childless, so they adopted her nephew, George, and her niece, Lydie Roberts. After Virginia died in 1926, Lydie became the center of his whirlwind life. When E.W. married Lydie, the scandal shocked America. Their relationship was the love story of the Roaring Twenties, and the extraordinary tragedy of the Uptight Thirties and Forties.
More than a historical recounting, this literary nonfiction biography journeys into the heart of ambition and the tragic consequences of broken taboos. The Marland story unbridles ambition, unravels societal norms and pressures, and follows the heartbreaking path of a high-society belle who became a destitute street person. As readers traverse the psychological landscapes of E.W. and Lydie Marland's lives, they also witness the seismic shifts in America's socio-economic structure and the brutal reality of mental health issues that still are stigmatized and misunderstood.
Gary Robert Pinnell
Award Winning Author and Journalist
Gary Robert Pinnell is a retired journalist who worked with thirteen newspapers in seven states - Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida.
He won or shared two dozen newspaper awards, 1976 to 2017. Following retirement, he won short story and novel writing awards from Florida Writers Association and Oklahoma Writers Association.
Gary authored fictional memoir, To Daddy, Who I Never Loved, that was published in 2020. He is currently working on a biography, The Madness of E.W. and Lydie Marland.
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