THAT'S A-LOTTA FAME

When we hear the term "child star" we think of Shirley Temple, singing and dancing, curls bouncing, dimples... dimpling. But Shirley had a predecessor from the Gold Rush era - Lotta Crabtree. Lotta Crabtree is a little remember today, but once "The Nation's Darling," she captivated theatergoers. Charlotte Mignon Crabtree was born November 7, 1847 in New York City. When her bookseller father sought his fortune in the gold rush, Lotta and her mother followed him to California and opened a boarding house. Their neighbor was famed performer Lola Montez, who encouraged Lotta's love of singing and dancing. 

Lotta began touring mining camps, her mother in tow, collecting payments of gold and coins in a steamer trunk. Lotta sang, danced, played banjo, and personified a lovable scamp. Rowena Steele, popular stage actress of the era made Lotta her protege and gave Lotta a home in her theater. When silver became the element of the day Lotta performed in Nevada mining camps. In 1864 Lotta and her mother went to New York. Lotta performed in plays like Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Old Curiosity Shop, to nation wide acclaim.

Lotta's fame continue to grow. She inspired two dances: the Lotta Polka and the Lotta Gallup. In 1875 Lotta, her mother, and the steamer trunk toured America with Lotta's own theater company. The steamer trunk was necessary as a Lotta became the highest paid actress in the country. The trunk was emptied when Lotta's mother invested her money in real estate, racehorses, and bonds. Lotta gave to several charitable organizations and built public fountains. Lotta's Fountain in San Francisco stands today. Lola and her mother traveled abroad. Lola studied languages and began painting.

After an onstage fall in 1889 Lotta retired. Her last public appearance was a 1915 for Lotta Crabtree day in San Francisco. Lotta built a house in New Jersey where she lived with her mother, two brothers, and their horses. Despite having romances Lotta never married. Lotta traveled and painted in her later years. She spent the last 15 years of her life in a hospital (which she owned.) Lotta died September 25, 1924 leaving $4 million in a trust for several charities. Once an idol of America, Lotta Crabtree is mostly forgotten, having been eclipsed by the child stars who came after her, who wouldn't have had careers if not for Lotta Crabtree.

A GOLDEN LIFE ~ GINNY KUBITZ MOYER ~ REVIEW

(Book for review courtesy of NetGalley)

Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, for She Writes Press ~ Sep 24  

In Jenny Kubitz Moyer's novel A Golden Life, Frances Healy wants a fresh start and finds it in a secretarial job with the studio head, Lawrence Merrill. When the studio wants to make a film about a Gold Rush era child performer turn serious stage actress, Frances and her boss are surprised Kitty Ridley is still alive and reluctant to have her life played out on screen. (Kitty is based on Lotta Crabtree, a real child performer during the Gold Rush.) Frances, Lawrence, and his daughter Sally travel to Napa to try and persuade Kitty to let the film be made. Frances visits her hometown of San Francisco and reckons with the past she was desperate to escape, and Lawrence realizes he needs to face up to his wife's death and be a better parent to Sally. Kitty tells her truth, not the story presented in the hack biography. 

The novel is based around the idea that you can't change or deny the past ; your past is what defines you and helps spur you to change for the better. The characters are likable and the story is believable and relatable. Golden Age Hollywood novels with a dual historical perspective are usually set in a modern era with the golden age as the past. This novel uses the golden age as the present setting, with Kitty's Gold Rush days and pre Hollywood stage time as the past. We often forget there was entertainment before film. A Golden Life is a meditative novel about who we are, and who we can become.

THE BOOKLOVER'S LIBRARY ~ MADELINE MARTIN ~ REVIEW

  

Book For Review Courtesy of Netgalley ~ Source Books Landmark 

Emma, the heroine of The Booklover's Library was left alone after her father's bookstore burned down. She quickly married and had a child, only to be widowed shortly thereafter. A single mother, Emma needs a job to take care of herself and her daughter Olivia. She gets a job at Boots in their book department. She describes what most readers would deem as Book Lovers heaven :  "the library transported its subscribers to a place of cozy comfort with large stained glass windows that overlooked the street below, plush rugs underfoot, and the lingering perfume of freshly cut flowers from the small bouquets in elegant glass vases through the open space. Then of course there were the books meet shelves perfectly arranged pristine from Emma's vantage point..."

But as much as the novel is about the love of books, it is more about the love of a mother and a daughter. Emma's daughter Olivia has been billeted to the English countryside twice. First the woman who took her in became unable to care for her, and then she stayed with an unkind couple. Emma faces the loss of her daughter bravely, while knowing that the brunt of the war can hit them any second. The Booklover's Library tells the story of what it was like for women to lose their children due to billiting, and for children to be away from their homes, which is not often discussed in World War II novels. Emma's bravery and love of her child is a story that resonates even today.

THE MAJESTIC SISTERS ~ JESSICA ILSE ~ REVIEW

 

   

(Book for review courtesy of NetGalley ~ Nimbus Publishing)

Jessica Ilse's The Majestic Sisters tell us the story of sisters Melly and Missy Calvert who, dancing at the Majestic Theater, captured the hearts of their Halifax, Nova Scotia hometown in the 1930s. When Melly flees to Atlanta to catch her big break at the Gone With the Wind premiere, Missy is left behind. In 1963 Melly receives word that the Majestic Theater will close for good, putting an end to the movie magic that propelled Melly to stardom. Melly returns to Halifax determined to save the theater and must reconcile with Missy. Ilse frames Missy and Melly's stories with that of Missy's daughters - Leonie, ambitious like Melly, and Birdie, who is more content with a quiet life - like Missy. The Majestic Sisters is story of sisters, and how the one you're closest to can hurt you the most, and a story of the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood, The Majestic Sisters proves sometimes you can, and need to, go home and need to, go home again.

KATHERINE, THE WRIGHT SISTER ~ TRACEY ENERSON WOOD ~ REVIEW

 

(Book For Review Courtesy of Netgalley ~ Source Books Landmark ~ September 10

On July 20, 1969 man landed on the moon. We never would have gotten there without Wilbur, Orville, and their sister Katharine Wright. Tracy Enerson Wood's novel Katharine, The Wright Sister chronicles the contributions of all three Wright siblings to the idea of flight. The novel switches narration between Wilbur, Orville and Katharine and includes details of their family life, including how they would bird watch to see just exactly how birds flew in the air. Katharine has been erased from their story and the efforts of Wilbur in Orville right are largely forgotten in modern history. Katharine Wright attended college, became a teacher, fought for suffrage, and lived her life in the style the way we see modern women today. Katharine, The Wright Sister emphasizes the close bond between the siblings who had the "Wright" stuff for getting man in the air.

YOU GOT THE WRIGHT STUFF

 

We all know the story of two brothers who took to the skies and changed human life forever. No one knows the story of the sister who kept things running on the ground and fought for her brother's proper recognition. Katharine Wright, sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright is the woman behind the first brothers of flight. Her story is one of support and sacrifice, so common among other historical women. But Katharine Wright was an uncommon woman keeping her feet on the ground while her brothers soared into history.

Katharine Wright was born August 19, 1874 in Dayton Ohio - on her brother Orville's third birthday. The Wright family consisted of three older brothers, then younger brothers Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine, youngest child and only girl. Their mother died when he was 14, and as their father was a bishop in their church, Katharine kept a home when he traveled, and helped him to entertain. Mr Wright wanted Katharine to have an education and a career. Katharine attended Oberlin College (the oldest co-ed college in the U.S.) At Oberlin Katharine experienced the companionship of women for the first time in her life. She had an active social life iand many friends - both men and women. She returned to Dayton after graduating in 1898, and began a high school teaching job in 1899.

Wilbur and Orville ran a bicycle shop to fund their flying. Katharine wrote their correspondences and managed the shop when the brothers went on flying excursions. When a failed flight killed a government official and injured Orville, Katharine resigned her teaching position and devoted herself to Orville's care. Upon Orville's recovery the trio sailed to France to secure funding and assistance. Wilbur and Orville were shy, but Katharine was a natural spokesperson for the Wright Company. She delighted royalty and  the aristocracy. France awarded her The Legion of honor, and she met President Taft in the White House after returning to the states.

Wilbur died in 1912 and Orville sold the company in 1915. The last two younger Wrights remained devoted to each other. Katharine joined the suffrage movement and marched in downtown Dayton to secure women the right to vote. She wrote letters to the Smithsonian imploring them to recognize her brother's flight efforts. Katharine began exchanging letters with a friend from Oberlin, journalist Henry Haskell, after the death of his wife. She and Haskell married in 1926, and Orville cut off ties with Katharine. Katharine and Henry moved Kansas City, Missouri and planned a belated honeymoon in 1929. Katharine came down with pneumonia. Orville reached her side one day before she died on March 3rd 1929. Katharine Wright, while remaining grounded, helped humankind take to the skies and fly.

SOURCES :

Katharine Wright Haskell. Wikipedia.

Katharine Wright. thewrightbrothers.org.

Ruffing, Katherine / Cochrane, Dorothy. Katharine Wright : The Wright Sister. National Air and Space Museum, 31 March 2023.

FURTHER MEDIA ~

BOOKS :

Katharine, the Wright Sister ~ Tracey Enerson Wood ~ September 10, 2024