Customer Reviews

The Diary of Lillie Langtry: And Other Remembrances

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not really a 'diary' of lillie Langtry. Lillie's life (and her real-life acting tours across the USA) is used as a literary conceit to put together a series of biographies of contempoaray 'famous' american women.

A lot of these women had quite significant achievements in their lifetime, but I had never heard of them before.

While I found their lives interesting I was dissapointed to see how little the author developed Lillie's Life story. Beware of the 'other rememberances' in this book's title, because they, not lillie, take up the bulk of the book.

Buy this if you are interested in a series of biographies on dis-seperate, but ground breaking women - don't buy it if you want an interesting book on Lillie Langtry, because in the end it's not really about her, despite the title.

I was greatly surprised at the approach Ms. Harper took with this book. Lillie has been written about for a very long time and her own biography has been of great enjoyment. The lady traveled extensively which gives credence to the stories in this book, put together in a novel form by Ms. Harper. Lillie did in fact meet the likes of Bat Masterson, the Moon sisters et al. Harper has taken archival files and pieced together the lady's life well. Her attempt at purchasing a huge piece of property outside of Middletown, CA was a flash in the pan, compared to recent stories and Harper puts it together honestly.
Yes, the book is about women and Lillie is the linkpin. It's worth the read and very much worth keeping on your shelf.

Reads like an exciting anthology of short stories. Ms. Langtry shines as a real heroine of her time. And all the traveling she did on horseback, carriage and boat must have consumed her spare time. Very much worth the read.