Fascinating correspondence, illuminated by thorough research, despite a later loss of focus.
The letters of a 19th-century immigrant and pioneer are transcribed and contextualized by his descendent in this absorbing debut epistolary biography by Watts.
Charles Watts was born in Epping, near London, in 1812. Along with family friend William Abrehart, the 23-year-old boarded the Montreal in late 1835 hoping to escape poverty in a new life. The pair arrived in New York in January 1836, and on arrival, Charles began writing letters to his family in England, many of which were addressed to his brother, Edward. The letters discuss a broad range of matters—details about his new life as a farmer after recognizing the agricultural prospects of relocating to Illinois, and opinions on slavery, the Oregon boundary dispute, and the Irish Potato Famine. Charles eventually convinced Edward to join him in Illinois, and when leaving England, Edward brought his brother’s treasured letters with him. At the turn of the millennium, the letters came into the hands of author Watts, Charles’ great-great-grandson, who began transcribing the documents as part of his genealogical research. Twenty-two of Charles’ letters survived, spanning 1836-68, and are now archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The author notes the ways Charles’ lengthy letters revealed the “travails, beliefs, and attitudes of one of the millions of working-class English emigrants” who risked everything for a better life. Divided into three sections, the book first describes Charles’ life, “anchored” by his correspondence, provides deeper background information, and addresses the family’s genealogical quest itself.
Charles’ letters add valuable individual details to our understanding of 19th-century transnational migration. The immigrant eloquently describes his daily struggle to establish himself in the New World, and it’s difficult not to be taken by his openness and tenacity: “It is but little over 5 years since I commenced farming steadily for myself, I had then every thing to learn, every thing to make, every thing to buy, and nothing to buy with—to dig my way inch by inch.” The author’s commentary deftly contextualizes the letters, drawing on well-researched historical detail to elucidate the struggle faced by farmers like Charles: “Nearly impassable roads limited the ability to get what remained to market. Making matters still worse, the 1851 crop was coming to harvest, causing crop prices to plummet.” The study goes marginally awry toward its close, when the author elaborates on particulars that may be of significance to his family alone: “Charles’s letters provide the only hint we have of the bitter relationship that developed between Mary Ann Aland and Anthony Alma’s children from his first two marriages.” The focus broadens to become more of a genealogical study of the Watts family, whereas Charles, his letters, and the immigrant experience provide the true points of interest. The biography would benefit from the omission or abbreviation of the work’s final section, which addresses the research conducted by the author and his family. Still, for those interested in 19th-century American history, this book provides a vital window into the everyday life and concerns of immigrants.
Fascinating correspondence, illuminated by thorough research, despite a later loss of focus.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1544531946
Page Count: 604
Publisher: Houndstooth Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A charming and often poignant valediction from rock ’n’ roll’s Prince of Darkness.
The late heavy metal legend considers his mortality in this posthumous memoir.
“I ain’t ready to go anywhere,” writes Osbourne in the opening pages of his new memoir. “It’s good being alive. I like it. I want to be here with my family.” Given the context—Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, two weeks after the publisher announced the news of this book—it’s undeniably sad. But the rest of the text sees the Black Sabbath singer confronting the health struggles of his last years with dark humor and something approaching grace. The memoir begins in 2018; he wrote an earlier one, I Am Ozzy, in 2010. He tells of a staph infection he suffered that proved to be the start of a long, painful battle with various illnesses—soon after, he contracted a flu, which morphed into pneumonia. A spinal injury caused by a fall followed, causing him to undergo a series of surgeries and leaving him struggling with intense pain. And then there was his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, the treatment of which was complicated by his longtime struggle with alcohol and drug addiction. Osbourne peppers the chronicle of his final years with anecdotes from his past, growing up in Birmingham, England, and playing with—and then being fired from—Black Sabbath, and some of his most well-known antics (yes, he does address biting the heads off of a dove and a bat). He writes candidly and regretfully about the time he viciously attacked his wife, Sharon—the book is in many ways a love letter to her and his children. The memoir showcases Osbourne’s wit and charm; it’s rambling and disorganized, but so was he. It functions as both a farewell and a confession, and fans will likely find much to admire in this account. “Death’s been knocking at my door for the last six years, louder and louder,” he writes. “And at some point, I’m gonna have to let him in.”
A charming and often poignant valediction from rock ’n’ roll’s Prince of Darkness.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781538775417
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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