Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution [Hardcover]

Eve Golden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Vernon and Irene Castle popularized ragtime dancing in the years just before World War I and made dancing a respectable pastime in America. The whisper-thin, elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways: they traveled with a black orchestra, had an openly lesbian manager, and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue. Irene was also a fashion innovator, bobbing her hair ten years before the flapper look of the 1920s became popular. From their marriage in 1911 until 1916, the Castles were the most famous and influential dance team in the world. Their dancing schools and nightclubs were packed with society figures and white-collar workers alike. After their peak of white-hot fame, Vernon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps, served at the front lines, and was killed in a 1918 airplane crash. Irene became a movie star and appeared in more than a dozen films between 1917 and 1922. The Castles were depicted in the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), but the film omitted most of the interesting and controversial aspects of their lives. They were more complex than posterity would have it: Vernon was charming but irresponsible, Irene was strong-minded but self-centered, and the couple had filed for divorce before Vernon's death (information that has never before been made public). Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution is the fascinating story of a couple who reinvented dance and its place in twentieth-century culture.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eve Golden, a former magazine writer and editor, is the author of four biographies, including Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway and The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall, and a collection of silent film articles. She works as a photo archivist in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081312459X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813124599
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Popular

More About the Author

After 20-some years in magazine publishing (including a stint writing "The Bottom Shelf" for Movieline, and as copy chief at More), I now work as a photo archivist in New York. I have several new book ideas on the back and front burners, and a proposal currently making the rounds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb blend of history and entertainment, January 3, 2011

By 

History Reader (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution (Hardcover)

Eve Golden's many books, particularly Bride of Golden Images, Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara,The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall and Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow are each noteworthy for her thorough scholarship and her own lightness of touch. Clearly, she cherishes the Castles in all their artistry, foibles and their fascinating effect on popular culture, (they were largely responsible for making dancing in public acceptable for middle class people in America).

However, Eve is never blind to her subject's faults but has some compassion for them. For example, as Ms. Golden describes him, Vernon was a disastrous business man who would sign any contract put before him and Irene, a wondrous fashion plate and a joy to see move in what few fragments of film remain, was also a bit of a snob, having grown up in a monied family. The delightful stories about a little known period when the Castles became teachers, choreographers, trend-setters and, in their spare time, animal rights activists is captured beautifully as the author conveys the social and economic changes of their era as well as the idiosyncrasies of the individuals who shaped that period.

This is only the latest book of Eve Goldens' work that I have enjoyed. Spending time in her company once again is a pleasure and an education. Thank you, Ms. Golden. PLEASE keep writing your literate and highly amusing histories and biographies.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before Fred and Ginger there was Vernon and Irene, February 14, 2008

By 

Brandy Purdy (Beaumont, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution (Hardcover)

I was so thrilled to find this book. As a longtime fan of classic movies I was familiar with the movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and I always wondered how much of the story was true since Hollywood biographical films are notorious for playing fast and loose with the facts. This is a well written and researched biography of the famous husband and wife dance team. I'm so glad that after the passage of so many years there was enough information still available for Ms. Golden to write this book, some have never been published before, like the fact that they planned to divorce after Vernon returned from the war. She was even able to interview Irene Castle's son by a later marriage and the daughter of the woman who might have become Vernon's second wife if he had not died so tragically during World War I. I highly recommend this book, along with Ms. Golden's previous biographies of Jean Harlow, Theda Bara, and Anna Held, to anyone interested in theatrical and movie history and to fans of the Astaire and Rogers movie who would like to know the true story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Inside Look into a Now Gone Era, December 5, 2011

By 

Sara Brideson "A Melancholy Idealist" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution (Hardcover)

I have read almost all of Eve Golden's books and never cease to be amazed at the fine research she puts into each project. In this book, I learned so much about the 1910s and 1920s as well as about the Castles. Golden teaches you why the people she is writing about are relevant and why they were so important to a certain time in history. I liked the characterizations of both Castles. Golden did a fine job being unbiased, showing the good and bad sides of their personalities. For anyone who thinks the Castles are like they were portrayed in the Astaire and Rogers movie, just read this book and be surprised! It was not all roses and sunshine. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in pop culture, theater, dance, or to anyone who just wants a really good read! Try this author and you won't be disappointed!