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American Rose

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

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

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

By Karen Abbott

By Karen Abbott

By Karen Abbott

By Karen Abbott

By Karen Abbott
Read by Bernadette Dunne

By Karen Abbott
Read by Bernadette Dunne

Best Seller
Paperback $18.00

Mar 13, 2012 | ISBN 9780812978513

Ebook $7.99

Dec 28, 2010 | ISBN 9780679604563

Audiobook Download $22.50

Dec 28, 2010 | 711 Minutes

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    American Rose by Karen Abbott
    Paperback $18.00
    Mar 13, 2012 | ISBN 9780812978513

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    • Paperback $18.00

      Mar 13, 2012 | ISBN 9780812978513

      Buy from Other Retailers:

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    • Ebook

      Dec 28, 2010 | ISBN 9780679604563

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    About American Rose

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    America was flying high in the Roaring Twenties. Then, almost overnight, the Great Depression brought it crashing down. When the dust settled, people were primed for a star who could distract them from reality. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for detail, Karen Abbott brings to 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 intense triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. Weaving in the compelling saga of the Minskys—four scrappy brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque and transform the entertainment landscape—Karen Abbott creates a rich account of a legend whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

    About American Rose

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    America was flying high in the Roaring Twenties. Then, almost overnight, the Great Depression brought it crashing down. When the dust settled, people were primed for a star who could distract them from reality. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for detail, Karen Abbott brings to 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 intense triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. Weaving in the compelling saga of the Minskys—four scrappy brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee’s brand of burlesque and transform the entertainment landscape—Karen Abbott creates a rich account of a legend whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.

    About American Rose

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, bestselling 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.

    Read An Excerpt

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    Also by Karen Abbott

    The Ghosts of Eden Park
    Sin in the Second City
    See all books by Karen Abbott

    Also by Karen Abbott

    The Ghosts of Eden Park
    Sin in the Second City
    See all books by Karen Abbott

    Also by Karen Abbott

    The Ghosts of Eden Park
    Sin in the Second City
    See all books by Karen Abbott

    About Karen Abbott

    Abbot Kahler (formerly known as Karen Abbott) is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American Rose; Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy; and The Ghosts of Eden Park. A native of Philadelphia, she now lives in New York City.

    About Karen Abbott

    Abbot Kahler (formerly known as Karen Abbott) is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American Rose; Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy; and The Ghosts of Eden Park. A native of Philadelphia, she now lives in New York City.

    About Karen Abbott

    Abbot Kahler (formerly known as Karen Abbott) is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American Rose; Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy; and The Ghosts of Eden Park. A native of Philadelphia, she now lives in New York City.

    Product Details

    Category: Historical Figure Biographies & Memoirs | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs

    Paperback | $18.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Mar 13, 2012 | 448 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812978513

    Category: Historical Figure Biographies & Memoirs | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs

    Ebook | $7.99
    Published by Random House
    Dec 28, 2010 | 448 Pages | ISBN 9780679604563

    Category: Historical Figure Biographies & Memoirs | Arts & Entertainment Biographies & Memoirs | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $22.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Dec 28, 2010 | 711 Minutes | ISBN 9780307877109
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    Praise

    “Richly atmospheric . . . an immersive, almost novelistic portrait.”—USA Today
     
    “American Rose is a fitting tribute to an amazing woman, telling her story beautifully while revealing as much about post-Depression America as it does about celebrity life. It’s cultural history at its best.”—Rebecca Skloot, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    “Abbott creates a brainy striptease similar to the one her subject may have performed.”—Newsday
     
    “With staggeringly in-depth research . . . Abbott composes a story wrought with personal drama and insight into a dark era in American history. . . . The story is as beguiling as it is timeless.”—Elle
     
    “At its core, American Rose is a haunting portrait of a woman . . . offering her audiences a sassy, confident self while making sure they would never know the damaged soul who created her.”—Los Angeles Times
     
    “Sad, smart, brassy . . . the true story of the Queen of Burlesque is even weirder and wilder than the legend.”—Salon

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