From here the book unfolds over more than half a century and portrays Carlisle's dramatic dealings with her own family alongside the sharp rise and fall of Brooks, the iconic silent-movie star of the stern black bob and bangs.
Who will each become as one seeks meaningful, trusting relationships and the other yearns for public acclaim? What shapes us more, nature or nurture (or lack thereof)? The Chaperone is a painful yet benign history of sexual mores in 20th-century America.Laura Moriarty's The Chaperone is the enthralling story of two women-one famous, the other not one drawn from history, the other mostly imagined-and how their unlikely relationship changed their lives. In 1922 Cora Carlisle, a yearning 36-year-old housewife in Wichita, Kansas, volunteers to escort a rebellious 15-year-old girl by the name of Louise Brooks to New York City so that she can attend classes at the famed Denishawn dance school. The remainder of this vividly poignant and surprising story charts the journey of both women, who have been betrayed over and over again and yet find a modicum of peace in very different yet engaging ways that keep the reader riveted to each page. Cora manages Louise just fine but secretly proceeds to search for her own past identity. Louise, on the other hand, is unloved and scarred by her parents and others, a background Cora understands has shaped Louise into the hard, cynical, and sometimes downright nasty young adult she is. Cora is an orphan who was lucky enough to be adopted by the Kaufmann family from a harsh orphanage, a place where parentless children were raised to be sent on “the train,” to work on Midwestern farms, in homes, and other unsavory places. Laura Moriarty takes us to the very beginning of Louise’s career and a new life for Cora Carlisle, who chaperones Louise on her trip to New York where she will train for a potential career with the Denishawn Modern Dance Company.Īlthough Cora is an older, sedate Midwestern woman, she’s tougher than steel and yet warm and wise beyond her years.
Known as no ordinary follower, she paved the way for those who would learn to develop a unique style in the same career path. Louise Brooks was an iconic dancer, actress, model, and showgirl during the first half of the 20th century.
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