Century Girl Ltd - Hardcover

Redniss, Lauren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061241504 ISBN 13: 9780061241505

Publisher: It Books, 2006

Synopsis

Lauren Redniss, acclaimed author of the brilliant biography-in-collage Radioactive, delivers a stunning visual journey through the life of the last Ziegfeld girl, Doris Eaton Travis. Now in paperback for the first time, Century Girl spans the brightest moments in early show business, the major historical landmarks of the 20th century, and the intimate milestones of one woman’s long life. Incorporating hundreds of archival photos and personal clippings with inventive line drawings and a compelling, hand-written narrative, Century Girl is a more than a biography, more than a graphic novel, and more than an art book—it is a singularly original and major work of art that Slate magazine calls “a visually dazzling mélange . . . unlike anything . . . ever seen before” (Best Books of 2006).

About this title

Review:

“Striking and unique. . . captivating readers by twining simple, evocative text with a stunning array of images.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“With Century Girl, Lauren Redniss creates an entirely new genre of biography.” (Nylon magazine)

“Lauren Redniss takes a graphically provocative approach in telling [Doris Eaton Travis’s] story.” (Daily News)

“My favorite new book this year. . . a visually dazzling melange. . . unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” (Slate (best books of 2006 pick))

“Not only did Doris Eaton Travis break records for accomplishment and humanity, she also had great hair and shoes.” (Isaac Mizrahi)

“The opposite of a page-turner: it’s a page-stopper, a page-savorer, in short: an unmitigated delight.” (Lawrence Weschler, author of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences)

“Doris Eaton is the darling of Broadway, a New York treasure.” (Nils Hanson, National Ziegfeld Club)

“I wish Lauren Redniss would write and illustrate my biography in the dreamy, luminous way she did Doris Eaton Travis’s.” (Maira Kalman, author and illustrator)

From the Back Cover:

The Ziegfeld Follies, Florenz Ziegfeld's stage spectacular, promised the best performers, the most lavish sets, and the most ravishing girls. At fourteen, Doris Eaton Travis became one of these prized beauties.

Over the past century, Doris has performed for presidents and princesses, entertained Gershwin, Lindbergh, and Astaire, starred in silent and talking pictures, bantered with Babe Ruth, offended Henry Ford, outlived six siblings, written a newspaper column, hosted a television show, earned a Phi Beta Kappa degree in history, raised turkeys, and raced horses. Doris has lived through it all with utmost grace and strength of character—and never missed a step.

While Today, The Tonight Show, CNN, Rosie O'Donnell, 20/20 and the New York Times have all showcased Doris, journalist and artist Lauren Redniss tells Doris's singular story in an utterly original way. Weaving archival imagery with compelling prose, Redniss has created a narrative landscape that is as surreal and delightful as it is rich with meaning.

Immensely fun, seductive, inspiring, and wise (much like its star attraction, Doris Eaton Travis), Century Girl is an innovation in storytelling. It can be read as a graphic narrative or a historical tapestry, or simply relished for its stunning visual effect.

About this edition

• Publisher: It Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0061241504
• ISBN 13: 9780061241505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208