Scandalous Book Review: American Rose
AMERICAN ROSE by Karen Abbott Random House Publishing, December 28, 2010 I have been fascinated by Gypsy Rose Lee ever since I saw the movie version of Gypsy! starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood but I had no idea until I was older and knew more about musicals that it was based on a true story. Now Karen Abbott has written a magnificent new book about the elusive, elegant and erudite practioner of the art of the striptease. The book is not just a biography of a fascinating woman who moved beyond what must have been a troublesome and traumatic childhood, to reinvent herself into a cultural icon. It is also a social history of era that will never be seen again except in grainy photos and old movies. Gypsy born Ellen June Hovick on January 9, 1911 wasn't even allowed to keep her original name. The minute her younger sister was born, Ellen June became Rose Louise, so her pretty blonde sister could have her name. From the time she was a child, Gypsy wa...