The Happy Hooker is a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, a call girl, that appeared in 1972. It was first published by Dell in the United States and later the same year by Talmy in the United Kingdom.Detailed publication histories can be found, for example, in the 30th anniversary edition (New York: ReganBooks, 2002) and in later British editions such as the 1978 reprint by W. H. Allen (London: W. H. Allen, 1978). A revised edition was published in 1987 (London: Grafton, 1987) and reissued in 1995 (London: Diamond, 1995). The 30th anniversary edition reproduces the revised text and includes a new epilogue. The strapline "My Own Story" appears on the cover of some editions.
The book sold over 20 million copies.The Philadelphia Inquirer on The Happy Hooker: "He said he found it fascinating that her book, which has sold 20 million copies to date, is still being picked up today". (26 June 2008) Robin Moore, who took Hollander's dictation of the book's contents, came up with the title, while Yvonne Dunleavy ghostwrote it.John Cassidy, "The hell-raiser", Sydney Morning Herald, 9 December 2000, Good Weekend, p. 80 In an interview published in 2019, Hollander said Dunleavy "was the one who wrote the book. They taped me, simply asking questions about my life and had the chapters spewed out in about three months. She wrote it, he edited it. He tried in vain to write a chapter, it was a piece of shit".
Adaptations Hollander's book inspired a series of movies, starting with The Happy Hooker (1975), which starred Lynn Redgrave. The film was followed by two sequels: The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977) and The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980).The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood In the sequels the role of Hollander was played by Joey Heatherton and Martine Beswick respectively.
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