Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies [Hardcover]

Lauren Redniss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2006

The Ziegfeld Follies, Florenz Ziegfeld's stage spectacular, promised the best performers, the most lavish sets, and the most ravishing girls. At fourteen, Doris Eaton Travis became one of these prized beauties.

Over the past century, Doris has performed for presidents and princesses, entertained Gershwin, Lindbergh, and Astaire, starred in silent and talking pictures, bantered with Babe Ruth, offended Henry Ford, outlived six siblings, written a newspaper column, hosted a television show, earned a Phi Beta Kappa degree in history, raised turkeys, and raced horses. Doris has lived through it all with utmost grace and strength of character--and never missed a step.

While Today, The Tonight Show, CNN, Rosie O'Donnell, 20/20 and the New York Times have all showcased Doris, journalist and artist Lauren Redniss tells Doris's singular story in an utterly original way. Weaving archival imagery with compelling prose, Redniss has created a narrative landscape that is as surreal and delightful as it is rich with meaning.

Immensely fun, seductive, inspiring, and wise (much like its star attraction, Doris Eaton Travis), Century Girl is an innovation in storytelling. It can be read as a graphic narrative or a historical tapestry, or simply relished for its stunning visual effect.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Similar in approach to a graphic novel, this biography-in-collage tackles the life of Ziegfeld Follies star Doris Eaton. Each page offers a wild mix of illustrations, doodles, photos and memorabilia from Eaton's archives, accompanied by handwritten text outlining her fascinating life, which comes across like something out of the musical Gypsy. Born in 1904 to a theatre-crazed Virginia family, Eaton was cast in New York's famous Follies at age 14, appeared in numerous silent films, worked for years as a dance instructor and earned her college degree at age 88. New York Times contributor Redniss's surrealist scrapbook approach is striking and unique, captivating readers by twining simple, evocative text with a stunning array of images, splaying words at all angles across the page; though this slows reading, the forced pace gives readers more opportunity to appreciate the book's charms. A worthy experiment in the genre, the visual approach takes precedence over a considered analysis of Eaton's life and career, but interview material with the vivacious showgirl survivor grounds the story. Appropriately, it's an elaborate (and, in the case of the forthcoming limited edition, pricey) spectacle heavy on opulent ocular flash, lighter on substance, and perfect for fans of the Follies.
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Review

“Doris Eaton is the darling of Broadway, a New York treasure.” (Nils Hanson, National Ziegfeld Club )

“I wish Lauren Redniss would write and illustrate my biography in the dreamy, luminous way she did Doris Eaton Travis’s.” (Maira Kalman, author and illustrator )

“Not only did Doris Eaton Travis break records for accomplishment and humanity, she also had great hair and shoes.” (Isaac Mizrahi )

“With Century Girl, Lauren Redniss creates an entirely new genre of biography.” (Nylon magazine )

“Lauren Redniss takes a graphically provocative approach in telling [Doris Eaton Travis’s] story.” (Daily News )

“Striking and unique. . . captivating readers by twining simple, evocative text with a stunning array of images.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“My favorite new book this year. . . a visually dazzling melange. . . unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” (Slate (best books of 2006 pick) )

“The opposite of a page-turner: it’s a page-stopper, a page-savorer, in short: an unmitigated delight.” (Lawrence Weschler, author of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Regan/HarperCollins (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060853336
• ISBN-13: 978-0060853334
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "It's the top, it's the coliseum", November 30, 2006

By 

S. Fishburn (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies (Hardcover)

Everything about this vivacious book gives me a thrill. From the life and times of Doris Eaton herself (my latest and greatest role model - Please, God, let me live so long and be so grand!) to Ms. Redniss' swell and funky collaged interpretations of it, these are book dollars well-spent. Century Girl is a BIG, juicy tome of a book with a fabulous and sturdy library binding and thick glossy pages.

Whether you're a fan of cutting edge book design, collage, the 1920's, or the Ziegfield Follies, do your coffee or bedside table a sweet favor and grace it with this book before another week passes you by. And don't forget the tables at your Aunties' and your best girlfriends'.

This is a book to give anyone you're really crazy about.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High-kicking hybrid, November 19, 2006

By 

LKP (Ancram, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies (Hardcover)

This book is an engaging blend of art journal, visual bio, and time-travel archive. Although the book documents the life of a bygone
Ziegfeld Folly-dolly, it is really a prime example of how a nearly-forgotten pile of clippings and ephemera can be turned into a fascinating
bit of visual magic. The author/artist shows a strong affinity and tenderness for her subject, and yet she breathes new (vibrant) life into the story of Doris Eaton Travis; and creates a fascinating visual diary
in the bargain. Although the target audience for this book is probably theatre buffs and historians, I would suggest that many of my "tribe" who love art journals, altered books, and mixed media artwork will find it to be full of ideas. Visually-fascinating and engaging.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Book About a Remarkable Life, December 9, 2006

By 

Jeffrey Yamaguchi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies (Hardcover)

Lauren Redniss' Century Girl is a work of art that tells the story of a remarkable woman, Doris Eaton Travis. It is visually stunning -- the colors and art/photos/clippings and presentation make the cleverly inked biographical words LIVE on the page. And though longevity is one of the book's hooks -- "100 years in the life..." -- it is really about LIVING life, really, truly living life. It's a very unique experience reading this book -- you open a page and the gorgeous, artistic presentation really draws your eyes. You soak it all in, and then you read the words. As you read the words, you take in the art in a new way, and the words and the art combine to unfold the story in a really wonderful way. I highly recommend this book.