Title: The Show GirlAuthor: Nicola Harrison
Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 10, 2021
Genres: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction
Pages: 400
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: St. Martin's Press
Book Rating: 8.5/10
It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more–even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way.
Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy–the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways–her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.
Review:
Stylish, dramatic, and absorbing!
The Show Girl is a captivating, passionate, coming-of-age tale that takes you into the life of Olive McCormick, an unwed, determined young woman, who after being tricked into sexual relations and having to regretfully give up her baby girl for adoption, moves from Minneapolis to Manhattan to reinvent herself, forget the past, and hopefully, achieve her dreams of becoming a famous performer for a successful, vaudeville-inspired show running in NYC.
The prose is eloquent and fluid. The characters are well-drawn, genuine, and endearing. And the story sweeps you away to New York during the 1920s when women were gaining independence and cutting their hair short, prohibition was in full force, and the Ziegfeld Follies was the place to be with its lavish sets, elaborate costumes, high-class productions, and beautiful chorus girls.
Overall, The Show Girl is ultimately a story about friendship, loyalty, familial relationships, secrets, prosperity, ambition, life, loss, and love. It’s a vivid, rich, engaging tale by Harrison that has just the right amount of drama, romance, and intrigue to be a satisfying, highly entertaining treat for historical fiction lovers everywhere.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Nicola Harrison
Born in England, Nicola Harrison moved to CA where she received a BA in Literature at UCLA before moving to NYC and earning an MFA in creative writing at Stony Brook. She is a member of The Writers Room, has short stories published in The Southampton Review and Glimmer Train and articles in Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine. She was the fashion and style staff writer for Forbes, had a weekly column at Lucky Magazine and is the founder of a personal styling business, Harrison Style.
Photo by Erwin List.
