Power imbalance between men and women in intimate relationships often manifests when there’s a huge difference in their ages, incomes, or cultural backgrounds. What happens when two people are in love but they are vastly different in all three areas? In the case of General Douglas MacArthur’s little-known affair with a young Filipino actress, it was a calamity.

Bogey and Bacall. JFK and Jackie. McQueen and MacGraw. These famous couples had wide age gaps. Add to that list Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the Filipino actress Isabel Rosario Cooper, whose romantic affair in the 1930s broke all taboos. In this article, I rounded up 10 of the most captivating May-December relationships over the years.

Is it okay to write a novel about a famous person? For me, the answer is yes. French novelist Gregoire Delacourt, who got sued for his novel that paid homage to Scarlett Johansson, might say no.

Historical fiction, the vast territory where history meets fiction, can be a story about prehistoric times or the Elizabethan era or the American Civil War. It can be a sweeping epic or a thriller or a bodice ripper. What is historical fiction? What are the qualities of a good historical novel?

Learn the true story behind My MacArthur, Cindy Fazzi’s historical novel. Attend a free presentation at the San Francisco Public Library (main) on March 16, 2019.

The Folsom Public Library will host Cindy Fazzi’s presentation titled “Douglas MacArthur: Public Figure, Private Affair,” a part of its Author Series, on March 2, 2019, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Cindy Fazzi’s historical novel, My MacArthur, was chosen as a quarterfinalist in ScreenCraft’s 2018 Cinematic Book Competition. “Our jury is looking for books that would be great for film and/or television,” according to the organization.

An hour of delightful conversation and good company in a historic building—what could be better? If you’re in the vicinity of Vallejo, California, on Dec. 22, join Filipino-American author Cindy Fazzi for a book event at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.

An article in the Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.) puts the spotlight on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s little-known love affair in the 1930s with Isabel Rosario Cooper, a young Filipino actress. “Though Cooper’s existence is not a secret, it’s hardly front row center anywhere until ‘My MacArthur,’” according to the story, referring to the historical novel by Filipino-American author Cindy Fazzi.

Robert Louis Stevenson, author of “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” is the star of this historical novel. But it was his wife, Fanny Osbourne, and their adventurous life together that kept me reading until the last page.