November 14, 2003

'Life Like Dolls: The Collector Doll Phenomenon and the Lives of the Women Who Love Them'

By NINA C. AYOUB

Little Becky has silky blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and merry blue eyes. She wants to go home with you, or at least that is what the syrupy advertising copy implies. Looking for love in four easy payments? Check the Sunday newspaper supplements. The doll ads are there, often as not.

But while many people wince and move on, there's a multimillion-dollar industry behind the porcelain and treacle. Childlike dolls -- too fragile, too elaborate, and too expensive, really, for children

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