Penelope Ashe entered into the literary world as a complete unknown, only for her salacious debut novel to sell 20,000 copies in the first month of its release. Telling the story of a woman who looks to get revenge on her cheating husband by sleeping with every married man in town, Naked Came the Stranger was a provocative release in 1969. The Long Island Express assured readers, “This scorching novel makes Portnoy’s Complaint and Valley of the Dolls look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.”
Surely Ashe would go on to be a significant cultural figure, serving as a sort of precursor for the literary juggernaut that would be the 50 Shades series. There was only one thing holding her back. She never existed.
In 1966, Long Island Newsday columnist Mike McGrady gathered a team of two dozen journalists with the goal of writing an intentionally bad, incredibly spicy sex novel. He had soured to the public’s thirst for subpar erotic thrillers and decided to stage the hoax in an effort to prove a point about the quality of popular literature. McGrady’s recruitment pitch for writers began simply, “You are hereby invited to become the co-author of a best-selling novel.”
Contributors to the novel were assured that any decent writing would be removed. Briefed on the plot of the novel, each writer was to contribute a chapter without any idea of what was to proceed or follow it. The book was completed in three weeks.
“Everyone handed in a chapter and most were bad enough to merit consideration,” McGrady told the Associated Press.
McGrady enlisted his sister-in-law to pose as Ashe. According to The Madman’s Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching, the book was quickly picked up by a publisher who was in on the hoax, but knew there was the potential to turn a decent profit. A massive promotional budget of $50,000 was allocated.
Upon its initial release, Naked Came the Stranger received mixed reviews. A critic for the Charlotte Observer said the book reads like it was written by a “computer programmed by a lobotomy patient.” The New York Times gave it a “C.”
But despite all that, Naked Came the Stranger managed to hook readers. “Penelope Ashe” made the rounds on several talk shows to promote the book. A paperback deal was quickly struck, and more than a dozen movie studios were interested in obtaining the film rights.
The hoax was soon ended when a Wall Street Journal reporter outed the book’s actual authors. But this only served to stir public interest even more, leading to the sale of 9,000 additional copies and causing the book to join The Godfather in the bestseller charts. McGrady lapped up the attention for his successful ploy. Unfortunately, Naked Came the Stranger’s reputation would follow him for the rest of his life.
An adult film based on the book would later be released, leading McGrady to compare himself to Dr. Frankenstein. An Army veteran, McGrady went on to write the bestseller The Kitchen Sink: Papers: My Life as a Househusband in 1975. The book detailed his experience as a stay-at-home dad. According to McGrady’s Los Angeles Times obituary, changing domestic roles with his wife turned him into a feminist. He would later work alongside Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace to produce two books revealing the abuse she experienced in the adult film industry.
Billie Cooke, the woman who portrayed Ashe, continued in that role even after the hoax was revealed. Cooke authored several books under the fictional author’s name, including an aphrodisiac cookbook, a sex guide, and multiple articles for Penthouse.
McGrady turned down a $500,000 offer to write a sequel to Naked Came the Stranger, but he did have a title in mind: Stranger than Naked.
Earning its status as a cult classic, Naked Came the Stranger was rereleased in 2004. At that time it was reported that Working Title Pictures had purchased the rights to produce a film about the 1969 literary hoax.
McGrady looked back with mixed feelings about the literary stunt he orchestrated. Yes, he had proved the point he set out to make. But there are some times when it’s better to be wrong.
“It was all too easy. It went all too smoothly,” McGrady said. “America, you sit there, you plumb beauty, still buying neckties from the sidewalk sharpies, still guessing which walnut shell contains the pea… America, I sometimes worry about you.”
