A heart-warming nostalgia memoir from a member of the world famous dance troupe; The Tiller Girls. Based in London in the 1930s; 40s and 50s; Irenersquo;s story will transport readers back to a more innocent; simple way of life.This is the story of a little girl who loved to dance. Growing up in London in the 1930s; dancing was so much more to Irene than just a hobby. It was her escape and it took her off into another world away from the harsh realities of life. A fairytale world away from the horrors of WW2; from the grief of losing her father and missing her mother who she didnrsquo;t see for three years while she was drafted to help with the war effort. And far away from her cold-hearted grandparents who treated her like an inconvenience.Finally it led to her winning a place as a Tiller Girl; the worldrsquo;s most famous dance troupe known for their 32-and-a-half high kicks a minute and precise; symmetrical routines. For four years she opened and closed the show at the prestigious London Palladium and performed on stage alongside huge stars such as Frank Sinatra; Nat King Cole and Judy Garland.It was a strange mixture of glamour and bloody hard work but it was certainly never dull. And being a Tiller Girl also gave Irene the opportunity to see firsthand the devastating effects of WW2; both here and abroad.Heart-warming; enlightening and wonderfully uplifting; Irenersquo;s evocative story will transport readers back to a time when every town and holiday resort had several theatres and when dance troupes like The Tiller Girls were the epitome of glitz and glamour.
#4488088 in eBooks 2014-02-06 2014-02-06File Name: B00IAH50QO
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. all the info in this book is already available online but it is still a good bookBy Benwas looking for more info on Frances OConnor. not very informative on that subject but still learned some new stuff.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerLove this book! So interesting and humbling.16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Alive on the InsideBy James G. MundieMarc Hartzman has undertaken an ambitious project: a chronicle of those showfolks who performed in Americas sideshows from circa 1830 to the present. Starting with the golden era under P.T. Barnum; Hartzman gives the reader brief biographical introductions to these unusual performers. Hartzmans prose offers a good humored look at the place where truth and hype converge in the lives of these human oddities. The text is accompanied by rare photographs from the authors and other collections (including that of yours truly).I find it gratifying that whereas most books focus on sideshows illustrious (or dubious) past; Hartzman also takes time to acknowledge the contemporary performers and showmen keeping the tradition alive out there on the sawdust trail.The short; the tall; the fat; the tattooed; the conjoined; the hirsute; the limbless: theyre all here to discover inside Hartzmans tent.
