Olive McCormick dreams of becoming a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Her conservative family objects, but Olive follows her dream first to California then to New York and a meeting with Ziegfeld himself. As a member of the cast, Olive relishes the life. While the other girls consider the job as a step to marriage and family, Olive is totally focused on being a star until she meets Archie Carmichael. He perseveres, and finally, she agrees to marry him.
She likes the way he doesn’t seem bothered by her success and independence, but once they’re engaged he starts to change. Olive is young and self-centered. She makes numerous bad decisions and finds herself in more trouble than she dreamed possible.
The glamour and excitement of New York in the twenties is on full display. The author has done and excellent job inviting the reader into the Follies. It’s a lavish picture and historically accurate. I loved it.
Olive is an independent self-centered character. I found it hard to like her, but I respected her desire to succeed as she coped with numerous difficulties. Life wasn’t easy in the twenties for a woman trying to make it on her own. I thought the author illustrated the expectations for women in the era and highlighted their struggles well.
If you enjoy well done historical fiction with a good dollop of romance, you’ll enjoy this book.
I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.
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