3. When we first meet the main character Lee Israel she is at which stage in her writing career?
From Quiz Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Answer:
Failing best-selling author
Lee Israel (1939-2014) is played by the Oscar-nominated Melissa McCarthy. Israel was a successful biographer, making the "New York Times" best-seller list, but now she can't get her agent to return her calls, she's behind on rent, and she owes the vet so they refuse to treat her sick cat. Lee is drinking to cope with writer's block, the failure of her last book, and her debts. Facing eviction, Israel sells a prized possession to bookstore owner Anna--a personal letter to Israel from Katharine Hepburn.
The movie mentions but does not go into the details of Israel's 30-year successful career or why she was now in decline. Real-life Israel profiled Katharine Hepburn in "Esquire" magazine in 1967, for instance, visiting Hepburn as well, which is why she had a personal letter from Hepburn in her possession. She made the best-seller list in 1980. But her last book, about Estee Lauder (1985) discredited the cosmetics giant, landing Israel in the doghouse with publishers and readers. Here begins the movie, with Israel bitter, in poverty, age 51, drinking too much, and ostracized from her former circles.