

Indlæser... The Chaperone (original 2012; udgave 2012)af Laura Moriarty (Forfatter)
Detaljer om værketThe Chaperone af Laura Moriarty (2012)
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Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. Overall liked the story, some of the bigger picture,historical context stuff was a little clunky. Grew to like Cora as the book progressed,but she was pretty stodgy in the New York section. I found Louise to be totally unlikable throughout ( ![]() Louse Brooks is the real part of this historical fiction. Cora Carlisle as her chaperone in NYC is not. But it makes for a great story. Headed to the city for the summer so Louise can dance with the prestigious Denishaw company, Cora has her own agenda to accomplish. She had been sent west on an orphan train in her childhood, but wants to find out about her birth parents and her time at the New York home for Friendless Girls. She makes no headway with the nuns so decides to charm the handyman Joseph Schmidt - and finds a friend and later a lover. She does locate her birth mother, but the encounter is not what she expected. Chaperoning Louise is also not what she expected as the 15 year-old is a handful and a magnet for trouble. Meanwhile, Cora's society life and a long-held secret are waiting for her back in Wichita. How she reconciles who she has become in NYC with who she has been in Wichita is interesting and thoughtful if a little far-fetched. Fascinating look at the 1920s and the changing mores that represented a threat to the established norm. Apparently every age goes through this, but this book makes a case for open-mindedness and tolerance and the fact that life is never black and white. Truly excellent! The way Ms. Moriarty wove together these 2 stories is incredible. Her description of life during the early 1900's was detailed and helped me understand how life truly was for women (and men) during that time. I liked this (and I like Louise Brooks), but it needed some structure beyond Cora's lifespan. Just when I thought things were wrapping up, there was MORE! This book was so much better than the movie (as is often the case). I watched the movie on PBS because it was written by Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, but I didn't know much about it otherwise. Turns out Fellowes did a hack job on the novel which was very much more satisfying than the movie. Louise Brooks made a name for herself as a silent film star in the 1920s but in 1922 she was just an unknown teenager from Wichita Kansas with a talent for modern dance. She was offered a place to study for the summer with the New York City dance company Denishawn but she needed a chaperone to accompany her. Cora Carlisle, who has her own reasons for wanting to go to New York City, offers to accompany her even though she doesn't really know Louise. Cora is married but her twin boys are almost adults and, at any rate, they are working away from home for the summer. So off Cora and Louise go by train from Wichita to New York City. Unbeknownst to anyone except her husband Cora was born in NYC and was raised in an orphanage there until she was put on an orphan train to the Midwest. She was lucky in that the couple that chose her were good and kind and did not take advantage of her. She was unlucky in that when she was just 17 the couple were killed in a farming accident. As she had never been formally adopted she was left out of the estate and that is how she met her husband, a lawyer who offered to represent her pro bono. Although Cora wrote to the orphanage to ask for information the nuns who ran it told her they could not divulge any information about her parents. Cora believes that once she is in NYC she will be able to access information and perhaps even find her parents. In order to do that she has to ride herd on Louise who is a wilful brat. Louise has no use for Cora but she does know that Cora could return with her to Wichita if she gives her too much trouble. And Louise really wants to stay because she loves to dance. Cora is an interesting character and she seemed much more real in the book than she did in the film. I found a lot of the information about the fashion of the times and the limited role of most women to be some of the best parts of the book. One detail remains stuck in my mind: On the train to NYC Cora's book drops on the floor of the train carriage. Because of her corset she is unable to bend over and pick it up but Louise has disappeared and can't do it for her. Cora goes off to find Louise who is at a table in the dining car with two strange men. Cora is furious with Louise and has to give her a tongue-lashing about preserving her reputation. And then she has to ask Louise to retrieve her book for her. I had never really considered before what a constriction wearing a corset would have on a woman's movements. Thank goodness we have left those instruments of torture behind us. Belongs to Publisher Series
A novel about the friendship between an adolescent, pre-movie-star Louise Brooks, and the 36-year-old woman who chaperones her to New York City for a summer, in 1922, and how it changes both their lives. No library descriptions found. |
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