A richly detailed biography of a defiant woman.
A survey of the early days of anti-abortion activism.
Syrett, a scholar of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, draws on considerable archival sources to recount the life of British-born Ann Trow Summers Lohman (1812-1878), aka Madame Restell, who became infamous as a women’s health provider. The author examines the social and cultural forces that made her a wealthy celebrity and repeatedly attempted to quash her. Lawmakers, doctors, and vice crusaders sought to limit women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom, and a “nativist outcry” emerged from Americans fearful that allowing abortion for upper- and middle-class married women, thereby limiting the size of their families, would result in a nation overrun with the offspring of fecund immigrants. Abortion foes were also concerned that women who sought to end a pregnancy were rejecting their sacred destiny to be a mother. Furthermore, the American Medical Association was determined to keep women’s bodies firmly under its control. Early in her career, one of Restell’s most energetic detractors was George Washington Dixon, a zealous reporter who published vicious attacks and rejoiced in her arrest in 1841. Public interest in her trial—where her “youth, beauty, black eyes, raven hair, and singular physiognomy” attracted admiring attention—and the 1842 appeal that overturned her conviction, afforded her “enormous amounts of publicity,” which the savvy businesswoman used to her advantage. Throughout her career, she vied with competitors, notably two known as Mrs. Bird and Madame Costello, and she fought accusations of “manslaughter in the second degree for the abortion of a quick child”; of abduction, and of murdering infants. Syrett portrays her as empathetic toward her clients—if less so toward her daughter and brother; strong-willed as she fought against misogyny; and wily in her business dealings. This book is a solid complement to Jennifer Wright’s Madame Restell.
A richly detailed biography of a defiant woman.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781620977453
Page Count: 352
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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