A young Midwestern woman comes to New York City in 1927 to find her destiny as a glamorous Ziegfeld Follies star.
Nicola Harrison's sophomore novel The Show Girl is a knockout delight! I couldn't get enough of this story about midwestern singer and dancer Olive McCormick who heads to New York City and secures a role in the glamorous Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920s. Knowing little of the Follies aside from hearing about them in classic movies, I found myself enthralled by Olive's new and glittering world and her alluring life as a show girl.
If you are as new to the Ziegfeld Follies as I was, then know that the Follies were elaborate and glitzy theatrical productions on Broadway in the early 20th century. These shows featured song and dance performed by beautiful women in intricate costumes. In fact, there were some pretty exclusive qualifications that a woman must possess to become a coveted Ziegfeld Girl, and many singers and dancers auditioned for the revue only to have their hopes and dreams dashed with a single sentence uttered from founder Florenz Ziegfeld's lips - "Thank you, but no." Ticket prices for the performances were steep, but considered worth it, as the audience of the Ziegfeld Follies was the place to be in the late 1920s, when this story takes place.
As you can imagine, The Show Girl goes into great detail about what it was like to live and breathe the Ziegfeld Follies as one of its performers. Harrison completely enveloped me in the world of the Follies with her lush and magical writing, and showed just how the Follies were able to captivate all of New York City with their tantalizing, often borderline risqué shows. The determined Olive is the perfect protagonist for this glitz and glamour novel - a woman had to be daring enough to put it all on the line to become a performer, and Olive does not hold back in pursuit of her dream. While she is often selfish, cold, and uncaring, she is also as fascinating a creature to read about as it is purported she was to watch on the stage.
Harrison adds dimension to her novel by also exploring a time period when being a "show girl" was not anything that a respectable lady would be caught doing. Such is the conundrum our headstrong protagonist finds herself in - determined to make it into the Follies, Olive turns her back on her family to pursue her dream - a dream that they consider to be vulgar and disgraceful. Harrison's masterful storytelling shows us what it was like to be a young woman on the verge of greatness, only to find herself butting up against preordained gender roles time and time again. As women living with choice, possibility, and opportunity 100 years after Olive and the other trailblazers of her day, it is sometimes unfathomable to imagine a time when young girls were destined to a life solely as a wife and mother, and that to dream beyond that was unacceptable. Harrison's emotionally-driven storytelling made me feel genuine awe for how far we have come, and made me thankful that we now live in a society where a woman can live the life of her choosing.
This concept is further explored in terms of marriage through the wealthy Archie Carmichael who finds himself enraptured with Olive. As a frequenter of the Follies, Archie loves to watch Olive on stage and begins to pursue her off stage, as well. After the two enter a lively relationship, Olive discovers that Archie, who she thought was a progressive kind of guy, may actually be deeply rooted in tradition. How can she choose between the man of her dreams and the career of her dreams ... and why should she have to? Why can't a girl have it all?
The Show Girl combines multi-dimensional characters with rich storytelling to create a memorable tribute to the Ziegfeld Follies and the women who performed on its stage. This book is highly recommended to lovers of historical fiction featuring women's careers; those who love classic films, theater, and Broadway; and anyone who enjoys getting wrapped up in a little glitz and glamour and being thoroughly entertained.
Availability: Book Rating: ***** Stars (I loved it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! The Show Girl
GENRE: Glitz & Glamour Novels; Historical Fiction
TONE: Atmospheric; Moving; Romantic
CHARACTER: Sympathetic
STORYLINE: Character-Driven; Intricately Plotted
WRITING STYLE: Engaging; Richly Detailed
LOCATION: Broadway, New York City
TIME PERIOD: 1920s
SUBJECT: Fame; Independence in Women; Moving to a New City; Options, Alternatives, Choices; Romantic Love; Secrets; Showgirls; Single Men; Women Dancers; Women Singers
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