Wasp Woman - by Lona Bailey (Paperback)

About the Book

Susan Cabot was a popular B-list movie actress in the 1940s-1950s whose grisly slaying perhaps gained her more notoriety than her on-screen and on-stage accomplishments. Susan had a significant acting career ultimately cheapened by the media circus surrounding her death.

The role for which Susan was most recognized was Wasp Woman, Janice Starlin, the president of a cosmetics corporation who experiments with a youth serum made from the extract of wasps that proves to have deadly side effects--not unlike the experimental injections that contributed to her own real-life slaughter in 1986 at the hands of her son, Tim.

Susan was essentially tried and convicted of her own murder due to the overbearing mother narrative purported by Tim's defense attorney team and the media. This biography broadens the narrative of Susan Cabot, detailing her legacy from a fresh perspective beyond the coils of her last years and brutal murder. It also explores the sociopolitical implications of victim-blaming, mother blame, and toxic masculinity that led to the skewing of Susan's life and death.

Susan's side of the story has never been told... until now.

Book Synopsis

Susan Cabot was a popular B-list movie actress in the 1940s-1950s whose grisly slaying perhaps gained her more notoriety than her on-screen and on-stage accomplishments. Susan had a significant acting career ultimately cheapened by the media circus surrounding her death.

The role for which Susan was most recognized was Wasp Woman, Janice Starlin, the president of a cosmetics corporation who experiments with a youth serum made from the extract of wasps that proves to have deadly side effects--not unlike the experimental injections that contributed to her own real-life slaughter in 1986 at the hands of her son, Tim.

Susan was essentially tried and convicted of her own murder due to the overbearing mother narrative purported by Tim's defense attorney team and the media. This biography broadens the narrative of Susan Cabot, detailing her legacy from a fresh perspective beyond the coils of her last years and brutal murder. It also explores the sociopolitical implications of victim-blaming, mother blame, and toxic masculinity that led to the skewing of Susan's life and death.

Susan's side of the story has never been told... until now.

Review Quotes

Gripping from the outset and rife with intrigue, the book sizzles in its raw and unfettered storytelling.

Informative, fascinating.

Wasp Woman offers a compelling look at the life and legacy of a true starlet whilst also serving as a poignant reminder of the darker side of Hollywood glamour. I would highly recommend it for true crime and memoir fans alike.

About the Author

Dr. Lona Bailey is an award-winning researcher and author specializing in the Golden Age of Hollywood. She has written acclaimed biographies including Uncredited: The Life and Career of Actress Virginia Gregg, Voice of Villainy: The Betty Lou Gerson Story, Mrs. Radio: The Cathy Lewis Story, and Some Small Nobility: The Biography of Joan Banks Lovejoy.

With a PhD and a background as a therapist, Dr. Bailey is dedicated to sharing the untold stories of women from Hollywood's Golden Age, with a focus on feminist legacy preservation. Her book Voice of Villainy was a finalist for the 2023 International Book Awards and won the Gold Medal in the 2023 Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards.

An Amazon bestselling author, Dr. Bailey has been featured on The Wolfe Den Show, Film Daily, and The Los Angeles Tribune. In 2025, she will release Lead Thou Me On: Titanic's Countess of Rothes and The Enduring Feministic Legacy of the Wicked Witch of the West, which Gregory Maguire praised as "a riveting analysis."