American Rose

A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee

By: Karen Abbott

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

New York Times best seller.

With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, best-selling author Karen Abbott “pioneered sizzle history” (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America’s coming-of-age - told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered. America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free. But then, almost overnight, the Great Depression leveled everything. When the dust settled, Americans were primed for a star who could distract them from grim reality and excite them in new, unexpected ways. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a preternatural gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for compelling detail, Karen Abbott brings to vivid life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy’s world, including her intensely dramatic triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who seduced men and women alike and literally killed to get her daughters on the stage.

American Rose chronicles their story, as well as the story of the four scrappy and savvy showbiz brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque. Modeling their shows after the glitzy, daring reviews staged in the theaters of Paris, the Minsky brothers relied on grit, determination, and a few tricks that fell just outside the law - and they would shape, and ultimately transform, the landscape of American entertainment. With a supporting cast of such Jazz- and Depression-era heavyweights as Lucky Luciano, Harry Houdini, FDR, and Fanny Brice, Karen Abbott weaves a rich narrative of a woman who defied all odds to become a legend - and whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

©2010 Karen Abbott (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

“A delicious history . . . a lush love letter to the underworld . . . [Abbott] describes the Levee’s characters in such detail that it’s easy to mistake this meticulously researched history for literary fiction.” ( The New York Times Book Review)

“[Abbott’s] research enables the kind of vivid description à la fellow journalist Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City that makes what could be a dry historic account an intriguing read.” ( The Seattle Times)

“[A] satisfyingly lurid tale . . . Change the hemlines, add 100 years, and the book could be filed under current affairs.” ( USA Today)

Interesting but...

I was hoping it would go deeper into the unique relationship Rose had with her mother. Mama Rose wasn't really covered in depth in this book, so her motives didn't really reveal anything about Gypsy herself that most fans wouldn't have already known. The interviews with her sister were quite interesting, especially the way the competition Mama Rose had instilled in them since birth continued when both recognized where it really came from but neither chose to do anything to change it.
The chapters jumped around in Rose's history, not a writing technique I'm fond of personally. First it was the height of her fame, then it was her early years, then it split into a third section about the Minsky's history with burlesque and just kept going and going. I had hoped there would have been more insight, especially from her son who was also interviewed but again it stayed on the surface.
Maybe it was the authors intention to make it like a burlesque strip, you see what you see and you have to imagine the rest.

Fascinating story!

What a life, lived a few different times, it would seem.

Performance was excellent, story intriguing. Only issue was keeping track of what time period each chapter took place--it does jump around a bit. Otherwise, excellent listen.

Good listen on Gypsy

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I guess so depending on friend.

Would you be willing to try another book from Karen Abbott? Why or why not?

I have and like her books.

Which character – as performed by Bernadette Dunne – was your favorite?

She did a great job on all of them as always!

Was American Rose worth the listening time?

It was a little too long for me. Could have been told in less time leaving out a lot of repetition.

Any additional comments?

It's very intense at times. Her relationship with her mother even to her mother's death was very volatile. It was sad when her mother died.

Let HerEntertain You

I'll start by admitting that I've been slightly obssessed with Gypsy Rose Lee since I first saw the film "Gypsy" as a preteen. Since then, I've read Gypsy's memoir, which was the basis for the musical, as well as autobiographies by her sister, June Havoc, and her son, Erik Preminger, and I thought I had the whole story. I was wrong. Karen Abbott revealed an amazing amount of new information while referring to enough that I already knew to maintain her credibility. Bernadette Dunne's narration makes it seem like the story is being told to you alone over coffee. Gypsy was a fascinating woman, and as a fellow native Seattleite, I think she deserves all the prose she gets. Get this one.

Fantastic!

I really enjoyed this book. It was engaging, exciting, no-holds-barred, a real page-turner. It was a far cry from the stage and screen musical. Mama Rose was a hundred times worst in the book. The woman belonged in prison for the insane. Just how Gypsy and June turned out to be so normal with a man-hating murderer for a mother is a miracle. Some reviewers criticized the author jumping back and forth to Gypsy Rose Lee at the height of her career, her love life, and son, to Mama Rose and her young girls traveling the vaudeville circuit, to the Minsky Brothers and how they started out in Burlesque. But I liked it. I thought the author did a great job of not letting the listeners get lost. Dunne was amazing. She did all of the voices really well. She kept you engaged until the very end. I will look for other books narrated by her. Again, I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.

Good research, superlative reader

This narrative of the life of Gypsy Rose Lee has insight, compassion, and interesting detail. If only the story line didn’t jump around. There are many interesting characters who weave through Louise’s life but keeping track of the cast is difficult in this bouncing timeline.

Well done biography of a complicated Icon

It's a good biography, but difficult to listen to because of the time shifts. The author moves back & forth through the highlights of a very busy and very short life and it's difficult to keep track of marriages, performances and relationships because of the time jumping.

Be sure to view YouTube with videos of Gypsy Rose Lee performing (very G rated, but very interesting) and go to the book's website to see photos of Tough Rose and Baby June

Wonderful glimpse into 20th Century America

What a great peek into the depths of vaudeville, burlesque, the 20th c American economy and social mores, and what life was like before the development of pervasive psychological and psychiatric literacy. While parts of this story are very tragic, Gypsy Rose Lee's spirit and the portrait of her clearly borderline personality mother are fascinating. Very well narrated.

confusing and shallow

I do not recommend this book for people interested in the life of Gypsy Rose Lee. It flips back and forth between two narratives, a problem compounded when one just listens to the book. It reads like fiction, though the intro establishes a connection between the author and one of the book's subjects, June Havoc. That connection is never explored, developed or used. I do not recommend this book.

Interesting subject not served by storyteller

The subject of Gypsy Rose Lee was exciting to me. I like strong, pioneering, daring women and she certainly was one as one of the earliest stars of vaudeville and burlesque. I had an idea about the musical Gypsy, the most famous imagining of her life, but haven't actually seen it (although very keen to now). I think the biggest fault with this book is the jumping back and forth in the timeline. I'm not a huge fan of that style in general and I found it difficult to follow and made me less connected to the "characters". I think if it had followed a chronological approach starting with the struggles and leading to her successes (and following her sister, June's success to struggle) would leave a reader more closely tied to outcome. I think this would have made the Minksy storyline make more sense - jumping back and forth isn't easy to follow with half a dozen Minksys. Abbott could have added a lot more relevant general history facts to "lay a nation bare" - discussing attitudes surrounding prohibition, etc. I also didn't like the glossing over of facts/myths - Mama Rose kills a "cow" but later you find out in a throwaway line that it was actually a person. Wait... what?? I felt like that could have used a lot more detail and explanation. Even if it is discussed as something that only may have happened. At the very least I did become more intrigued with Gypsy Rose Lee and will seek out some of her performances and watch Gypsy after having done this "homework."