Oh, The Glamourous Life!

Dear Constant Reader,

Tease by Immodesty Blaize (2010).

Immodesty Blaize is a stunning burlesque performer. Her shows are amazing — gorgeous costumes, over-the-top props, sultry striptease. It’s no wonder Betty Blaize was so smitten that she chose her surname in tribute to her idol. Besides being the UK’s most dazzling burlesque showgirl, Immodesty is also an author. She’s written two novels and today I’ll review the first one.

Tease is the story of Tiger Starr, the UK’s most dazzling burlesque showgirl. She has elaborate stage shows, a platoon of leggy chorus girls, costumes worth the GNP of a small country, armies of admirers, a fabulous house. And a secret.

She’s poised on the brink of international superstardom with her own Las Vegas show when the anonymous letters begin to arrive, threatening to reveal her secret. Tiger’s career and very sanity begin to crumble.

Who is out to destroy her? A besotted fan? A bitter burlesque never-was? Her scheming dance captain? A jilted critic? Her overbearing manager? Her jealous younger sister? We’re pretty sure it could never be her flaming costume designer /confidant.

It’s a lushly-written romance in the style of Jackie Collins. The lavish descriptions of Tiger’s performances, costumes, and house are practically erotic. And speaking of things in that vein, there is sex. A fair amount of it. And throughout the story is the mystery: who is threatening Tiger? what is her secret?

Fun. A perfect vacation read.

Dear Constant Reader,

Looking for Little Egypt by Donna Carlton (1994).

In almost every book on the history of burlesque, there a mention of Little Egypt and how she saved the Chicago World’s Fair with her scandalous hoochy coochy dance on the “Streets of Cairo” exhibit. Her legend is huge — she used the newly invented zipper to shed her costume, her performance gave Mark Twain a heart attack, she was filmed by Thomas Edison. But who was she? Did she even exist?

Donna Carlton takes us back to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and explores the eastern entertainment on the Midway Plaisance that might have spawned Little Egypt. There were 3 places fairgoers could see authentic dance — the Algerian and Tunisian Village, the Turkish Village, and A Street in Cairo. There was also pseudo-oriental dancing at the Persian Palace. There’s no doubt the dancing was popular with attendees and horrified the more proper members of society. Oriental and orientalized dance spread across America.

So what does this have to do with burlesque? After the Chicago Exposition, most burlesque, vaudeville, and carnival shows featured a middle eastern-style dancer, often called a hoochy coochy (a corruption of the French hochequeue meaning “tail shaker”) or cooch dancer, and often billed as “Little Egypt”. These were usually western women in a fantasy version of eastern dance costume presenting an “exotic” dance. One can see the influence of the cooch dancer on stripper’s costumes and dance moves, or maybe it was the other way around.

So, was there an actual Little Egypt? Who was she? Ms. Carlton separates myth from history and makes a well-researched case for the identity of the original Little Egypt, but I will not reveal the results.

Dear Constant Reader,

This is the last book on the burlesque shelf!

Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese by Dita Von Teese (2006).

This is two books in one. When you finish reading about burlesque according to Dita, flip the book upside down and read about fetish according to Dita!

Most of the text is Dita on how fabulous it is to be Dita. She tells of her transformation from a shy and dowdy girl to a glamourous burlesque star. You have to admire her dedication and marketing. There’s also a light history of burlesque, some interesting tidbits and trivia in sidebars, and a makeup guide by decade. There are other, better books on those subjects, but you didn’t buy this book to learn about burlesque history. You want to look at photos of Dita and be seduced by the fantasy of her life. And the photographs are gorgeous.

This will be my last book review for a while, until I get some more burlesque books!

Dear Constant Reader,

I’m getting to the end of the book collection. Just a few more remain on the shelf. This is the last biography, the story of one of my inspirations:

Sally Rand: From Film to Fans by Holly Knox (1988).

In 1932 Sally Rand auditioned for The Paramount Club in Chicago and her life changed.

With mere hours to put together an act, she bought two large feathered fans at a second-hand store and hastily began making a Grecian-style gown. She planned to dance to a record of harp music. Her gown wasn’t ready in time for curtain and all the music was provided by a piano player. She asked him to play Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” and went on stage with nothing but her fans to cover her.

It was 8 minutes of magic. And she continued to perform that same act for almost 50 years.

As for what occurred before that night and after, I leave that to the book to tell. The author, Holly Knox, performed in Sally’s show in the 1950’s. She profiles a dedicated performer, a producer, a mother, a religious woman who swore like a trucker. Miss Rand was both generous and tight-fisted. She created two etherial acts — the fan dance and the bubble dance — but never shied away from getting her hands dirty. There’s a photo of her up on a ladder, assembling her own sets.

A number of b&w photographs of varying quality. No bibliography or notes. As far as I can tell, the only book on Sally Rand. You can (and should) buy it directly from the author via Amazon. She sends it inscribed “Have a fan-tastic read”.

If you’re going to be sorry to see my book reviews come to end, there are still a few burlesque books I have my eye on right here on my wishlist.

Dear Constant Reader,

This week marks the birthday of a lovely and truly magical lady, Dusty Summers! This is her story.

The Lady is a Stripper by Dusty Summers (2001).

To say that Donna had a lousy childhood would be an understatement. Her father was abusive, both physically and psychologically, and her mother refused to see it. Donna loved school, so her father made her quit. Finally, she ran away, and after she found someone who would listen to her woes, instead of just sending her back to her parents, she had a few years of happiness in foster care.

After an early marriage and divorce, at 18, in 1966, she found herself at the Airport Inn in Tucson applying to work as a bikini go-go dancer. Dusty Summers was born.

That was only the beginning. There were more marriages (nine total!), children, and a change from go-go to exotic dancing. Then Dusty met Professor Turban and her life changed again — she married him and he taught her magic. Abracadabra! She became Las Vegas’s Only Nude Magician.

And there’s even more, but I’ll leave that to the reader to discover.

Dusty’s story is often hard to read. The abuse she suffered from her parents and some of her husbands is heartbreaking. However, her determination, her accomplishments, and her love for her sister and daughters are inspirational. Throughout it all she was always classy, never raunchy, unashamed, completely a lady.

She’s still performing today, and if you have the chance to see her, don’t hesitate. Her magic is amazing and her performance skills are top-notch.

Dear Constant Reader,

Today’s review is particularly timely as there is a big party in L.A. tomorrow to celebrate the release of this book.

It’s All That Glitters: Portraits of Burlesque Performers in Their Homes, by Brian C. Janes (2012).

Photographer Brian Janes traveled around the country photographing burlesque performers in their homes, as the subtitle says. The performers were asked to be in costume and in some room of their house. Some are in the bedroom, some the bathroom, some their burlesque room. Some have been carefully styled to create a lovely backdrop for the performer’s personality, others were just as it is. All say “performer in her/his natural habitat”. Occasionally pets or children make an appearance.

Accompanying each full-page portrait is the performer’s own words, explaining what burlesque is to them.

I’m privileged to be one of the performers featured, along with Scratch and Betty. So if you get the book you’ll see my naked rear (I’m posing with my fans, of course) and well as my disaster of a sewing room. Brian really liked the overflowing bins of fabric, the overflowing book cases, the extension cords snaking across the floor (my overhead light needed to be replaced) and generally clutter. I think it’s funny that you can’t see my sewing machine, the usual centerpiece of the room, because it’s hidden behind me.

Dear Constant Reader,

Despite being so close to reviewing the last burlesque book in my collection, today’s book is not about burlesque at all.

Fox’s Folly: a Duals and Donovans story by Teresa Noelle Roberts (2012).

Full disclosure, the author is a friend of mine from way back. Teresa writes erotic paranormal romances, which means hot sex with a side of supernatural.

Her Duals and Donovans series is set in a world very much like ours, but with The Different — that is, witches, ghosts, demons, fae, and duals (shape-shifters) — mostly hidden from us “normies”. Fox’s Folly is the story of how Paul Donovan, a witch specializing in sex magic, and Taggart Ross, a fox dual, met while on the trail on a supernatural murderer. The attraction between the two men is instant (not surprising for readers of Foxes’ Den in which they are a long married couple) and the sex is steamy. But the murder mystery never gets forgotten, even when the sparks are flying.

There’s a lot of passion in her stories, both erotic and romantic. The author clearly believes in true love, although not necessarily with only one person (check out Lions’ Pride)… or creature… (see A Satyr for Midwinter, the last book in her Seasons of Sorania Cycle for some of that). You’ll sigh over the romance as much as over the lust (well, maybe not sigh).

The best part of Teresa’s books is that while the sex scenes are sizzling, the characters are well-developed and the plot is engaging. Well, that and that they are all available as ebooks, so you can be discrete about your reading. (wink)