Soap Opera Confidential

<p> Soap operas have captured loyal often lifelong viewers since the first American daytime serial debuted in 1949. In this collection of 29 new and five classic essays and recollections authors and soap opera insiders delve into the passion for television melodrama that compels viewers to tune in tomorrow. The contributors include iconic soap star Thorsten Kaye journalist Leigh Montville authors Elinor Lipman and Ann Hood and editors of <I>Soaps in Depth</I> magazine. They explore the soap phenomenon from a range of perspectives and consider the appeal of a venerable genre in which as novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard observes everyone's life was more depressing than mine.</p>