- published: 19 Apr 2011
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The Help is a 2009 novel by American author Kathryn Stockett. The story is about African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.
A USA Today article called it one of the "summer sleeper hits". An early review in The New York Times notes Stockett's "affection and intimacy buried beneath even the most seemingly impersonal household connections" and says the book is a "button-pushing, soon to be wildly popular novel". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said of the book: "This heartbreaking story is a stunning début from a gifted talent."
The novel is Stockett's first. It took her five years to complete and was rejected by 60 literary agents before agent Susan Ramer agreed to represent Stockett.The Help has since been published in 35 countries and three languages. As of August 2011, it has sold five million copies and has spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
The Help's audiobook version is narrated by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, and Cassandra Campbell. Spencer was Stockett's original inspiration for the character of Minny, and also plays her in the film adaptation.
Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress. She convinced her parents to let her move to Hollywood at the age of fifteen and she made her screen debut in the VHI reality show In Search of the New Partridge Family. (2004), followed by appearances on television series such as Medium, Malcolm in the Middle, and Drive. She made her feature film debut in the comedy Superbad (2007) and had supporting roles in The House Bunny (2008) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). She received further mainstream attention for her role in the comedy Zombieland (2009). She garnered recognition for her leading debut role in the comedy Easy A (2010), for which she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy.
Following her breakthrough, Stone starred in the romantic comedy-drama Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and the drama The Help (2011). She had a commercially successful role as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man film series, and voiced the main character in the animated comedy The Croods (2013). In 2014 and 2015, she co-starred in two Woody Allen films: the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight and the mystery drama Irrational Man, respectively. She received critical acclaim for her supporting performance in the comedy-drama Birdman (2014), for which she was nominated for the SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In November 2014, she made her Broadway debut as a replacement in the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret, which she performed until February 2015.