Insightful and a great deal of fun.
Three brilliant sisters with a gift for showmanship captivate a nation as mediums in this true story from the years leading to the Civil War.
It started as a prank on a prudish older cousin. Two adolescent sisters, Kate and Maggie Fox, convince an entire town that their house is haunted by cracking the joints of their knees, ankles and toes to create the sound of spirits rapping on the walls. No one is more fooled than the girls’ mother, who considers it a miracle that her daughters can communicate with the dead, carrying messages that comfort the bereaved. But it’s their shrewd and toughened older sister, Leah, who sees the trickery’s real potential. With Leah’s theatrics and instinct for showmanship, the girls dazzle the Eastern seaboard by holding spirit circles for some of the most celebrated senators, generals and scientists of the time. Skeptics and witch hunters terrify them early on, yet their mix of cunning and luminous innocence helps them avoid detection. Amazingly, they climb the social ranks from lower-class blacksmith’s daughters to being respected among society’s crème de la crème. But Maggie’s beloved, an upper-class doctor, sees through the charade and promises marriage only if she renounces her spirit-rapping. After Maggie gives up all that she knows, including her means of supporting herself, the doctor’s parents refuse to condone the match, and the man, brave enough to explore the Arctic, is too emotionally weak to fight their will. Their fraught romance underscores the tale’s thematic exploration of early American feminism. Among the Fox sister’s spiritual followers are women involved in the Seneca Falls Convention, and the story is both an argument on the ethics of spiritualism and showmanship as it is the tale of three women, successful at supporting themselves but disparaged by men. The story’s lively pace and dialogue are rife with wit, and the Fox sisters are captivating.
Insightful and a great deal of fun.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-595-42350-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
