Primates of Park Avenue, the controversial memoir by Wednesday Martin about living on the Upper East Side, has already got a movie based on it in the works. The book was criticized earlier this month when it was revealed that Martin had fudged some facts, forcing Simon & Schuster to add a disclaimer to future pressings.
The book is about the lives of rich young mothers who live in New York City. It was published on June 2, following an op-ed in the New York Times about how wives were receiving a “wife bonus” for how well they keep their home in order.
On June 7, The New York Post published an expose on the book, revealing that Martin did not live in the Upper East Side to do “field work” for six years with her two children. In reality, she only lived there for three years, based on property records.
Another story in the book is about her miscarriage and how the women of the Upper East Side when to support her, even though they previously mistreated her. However, she would have already moved out of that part of the city by then.
Martin told the Post that the book was organized by topic, not chronology. Later, the Times reported that Simon & Schuster will put a disclaimer on future printings of the book, which had originally claimed to be “a memoir.”
“It is a common narrative technique in memoirs for some names, identifying characteristics and chronologies to be adjusted or disguised, and that is the case with Primates of Park Avenue,” Cary Goldstein, vice president and executive director of publicity at the publisher, told the Times. “A clarifying note will be added to the e-book and to subsequent print editions.”
Considering all the extra publicity the book received over its already-fudged facts, it’s not surprising that Hollywood came calling. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the book started a bidding war between Warner Bros., Netflix and even Amazon. However, MGM stepped in and won.
Martin bills herself as a “cultural critic in high heels” and also wrote the book Stepmonsters.