Cutler, Jessica 1978–

views updated

Cutler, Jessica 1978–

PERSONAL: Born May 18, 1978. Education: Attended Syracuse University.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Hyperion Books, 77 W. 66th St., 11th Fl., New York, NY 10023.

CAREER: Writer. Former staff assistant for U.S. senators Joseph Lieberman and Mike DeWine.

WRITINGS:

The Washingtonienne (novel), Hyperion Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to Guardian.com; author of Washingtonienne Web log.

SIDELIGHTS: A former intern and assistant staffer for a U.S. senator, Jessica Cutler's intimate Web log (blog) caused her to lose her job in 2004. Employed by Senator Mike DeWine, a Republican from Ohio, and formerly by Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, Cutler supplemented her 25,000-dollar annual salary by selling sexual favors to various influential people in Washington, DC, and she posted her private diary online under the name of Washingtonienne. Such postings lasted only a matter of weeks, but, in the summer of 2004, when her real identity was posted online by another blogger, Cutler was dismissed from her position, and the Washington Post ran a long story on her adventures and misadventures as a blogger. Subsequent events called into question the veracity of her diary recordings: she also gave a false birth year and incorrect educational information to the media. It also appeared that Cutler's "outing" may not have been accidental after all, as she and her "outer" were subsequently seen together socially. Internet rumor had it that Cutler's blog was simply a means to gain the notoriety required to land a book deal. Whatever the case, the results were the same. After posing for a Playboy photo spread, Cutler also secured a reported 300,000-dollar advance for The Washingtonienne, the novel based on her blog.

The Washingtonienne is, according to John F. Baker, writing in Publishers Weekly, a tale "about the dashing life of a sexy girl-about-town whose specialty is members of Congress." It features a female protagonist named Jacqueline, "a world-weary babe with Gucci shoes, innovative sexual habits, and a terrible job on Capitol Hill," as Judy Bachrach described her in the Weekly Standard. Based largely on Cutler herself, Jacqueline moves from New York City to Washington, DC, where she is unimpressed by both the power radiating from the city and the men who largely dominate the scene. Quickly gathering a coterie of admirers, she is underwritten by one of them for 20,000 dollars annually. Bachrach further commented that The Washingtonienne "is a novel of uncommon candor, humor, and perspicacity, and I loved every page of it." The critic also dubbed Cutler the "Samuel Pepys of promiscuity."

Part of the draw of the novel for many in the know has been attempting to figure out who the thinly disguised characters are in actual life. However, outside the Washington Beltway, the book's reception was less enthusiastic. Writing in Library Journal, Sheila Riley called the story "old news" and went on to observe, "with no real character or narrative development, the book is also a touch boring." Katherine Marsh, reviewing the book in Entertainment Weekly, felt that Cutler's sex scenes are not as shocking as its author's "shamelessly bad prose." A critic for Kirkus Reviews quipped that there is "nothing wrong with a narrator this shallow, but she should at least be funny."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Entertainment Weekly, June 3, 2005, Katherine Marsh, review of The Washingtonienne, p. 89.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2005, review of The Washingtonienne, p. 371.

Library Journal, February 15, 2005, Ann Kim, review of The Washingtonienne (audiobook), p. 171; June 15, 2005, Sheila Riley, review of The Washingtonienne, p. 57.

Newsweek, June 7, 2004, Holly Bailey, "A Beltway Blogger's Sex Scandal," p. 45.

PR Newswire, August 31, 2004, "The Infamous Washington, D.C. Sex Blogger."

Publishers Weekly, July 12, 2004, John F. Baker, "Woman about Washington," p. 8.

Washington Post, August 15, 2004, April Witt, "Blog Interrupted," p. W12.

Weekly Standard, July 4, 2005, Judy Bachrach, "She's Come Undone," review of The Washingtonienne, p. 30.