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bookishcitygal's review against another edition
2.0
I found the content interesting but felt like the story could have been told in a shorter form. I struggled to get through the overly descriptive writing at times but was committed to finishing the story and learning about American Eve.
tamarabuitrago's review against another edition
4.0
A little too floral writing wise but loved it as a reference point to today’s Epstein or pizza gate anxieties; real or not. Shows that elites r gonna keep abusing young women :( ur OG coquette Evelyn
bmesimer88's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.75
kaebirdie's review against another edition
2.0
For being non-fiction, this book is far too flowery and embellished for me to slog through. It perhaps doesn't help that I found it through the My Favorite Murder podcast that featured the story of Evelyn Nesbit, but I expected significantly more conciseness and much less supposition and adjective. Gave up before we even got to Thaw.
avreereads's review against another edition
4.0
THE DISHEARTENING TALE OF HOW ONE GIRL'S INNOCENT BEAUTY BECAME HER CURSE.
Exploited by those closest to her and by enamored strangers alike.
She had the misfortune of being tempted with fortune…
It was so sad to witness the story telling of the conniving and manipulations that went on behind the scenes when Evelyn was just a trusting girl who was tempted by rich foods, toys, and books which then progressed to jewels, furs, and clothing once she was prematurely “made a woman” at the hands of one Stanford White. "But as time went on, Evelyn came to see that the majority of White’s other girls fit a disturbingly familiar pattern. They were invariably underage, from poverty-stricken or disadvantaged families with dead or absent fathers; they were usually naive or emotionally needy, starved for attention, many feeling abandoned and sometimes desperately alone in the city.”
Still knowing what White did to take advantage of poor Kittens (Evie) it was nothing on what was coming for her, “Then fate played yet another nasty trick on Evie. As if the scenario weren’t melodramatic enough, what with two men half in and half out of her life, neither of whom could give her wholly what she wanted or needed, a third emerged from out of the shadows. He had simmered there for nearly a year, plotting and pining, sending notes and keeping tabs, then materializing, like some haunted doppelgänger in a bad Gothic thriller, in the form of Harry K. Thaw. The unseen watcher.” Boy, in hindsight this is the scariest line of the book…sends chills up the back of my skull knowing just what I know now about this skulking, doe eyed varmint.
I just hate how she couldn’t catch a break with the kinds of people she attracted and how this Thaw guy knew how to get to her… “One series of anonymous letters that arrived daily for an entire week actually did make an impression upon Evelyn as having been evidently written by a “man of some refinement” who talked at length about books and animals, two of Evelyn’s favorite subjects.” It’s just so sad that inside she was remaining quite childlike but the paradox of the outward appearance brought drooling, dirty older men hunting after her with wicked intentions…though in Thaw’s case…under the guise of being her “rescuer” and it was frustrating to witness him claiming to save this poor “child” from the clutches of her benefactor [White] that was rumored to “destroy” the purity of pubescent girls. When ironically it was ultimately Thaw that brought about her complete destruction. It angers me that he claimed to hate what White was getting away with but he defiled her way worse than what White committed. It was the most disturbing portion of the book I’ll tell you that much…to hear of what he did to her in the name of him being “upset” at what White did to his “Boofuls”.
This truly was an exciting (though at times disturbing) read. Each time I picked it up, no matter where I was, I was always drawn right back into Evelyn’s sordid life. It’s just too bad that her life was fraught with so much scandal when she was just a pawn for so many perverse, selfish people.
Some of my favorite highlights are:
“Herself a product of the Victorian past but with an approach to life that was unconsciously and uncannily modern, Evelyn Nesbit unwittingly embodied the country’s paradoxes and ambiguities at its trembling turn into the twentieth century.”
“Women wanted to be her; men wanted to own her. She became a maddening object of desire, and tragically, a victim of her own beguiling beauty during the “gaudy spree,” which she would help bring to a stunningly shameful end.”
“Irvin S. Cobb, a well-known syndicated columnist and social critic, described her as “the most exquisitely lovely human being I ever looked at—[she had] the slim quick grace of a fawn, a head that sat on her flawless throat as a lily on its stem, eyes that were the color of blue-brown pansies and the size of half dollars; a mouth made of rumpled rose petals.” Yet even as her startling testimony helped push an unsuspecting and unprepared America into the modern age, while canny entrepreneurs sold hastily manufactured little red velvet swings on the street outside the courthouse, as quickly as Evelyn’s star rose, it fell victim to the very culture that created and consumed her.”
“In the girl’s graceful, undeveloped figure, boyish in its thin, lean lines, she saw the perfect embodiment of a kind of ambivalent, classically androgynous spirituality wrestling with the sensuality of her face.”
“Florence Evelyn was dubbed the “modern Helen” by one columnist, and her evocative and soon familiar face launched any number of advertising campaigns as canny entrepreneurs began to capitalize on her uncanny ability to appeal to both sexes and appear chaste and alluring at the same time.”
Exploited by those closest to her and by enamored strangers alike.
She had the misfortune of being tempted with fortune…
It was so sad to witness the story telling of the conniving and manipulations that went on behind the scenes when Evelyn was just a trusting girl who was tempted by rich foods, toys, and books which then progressed to jewels, furs, and clothing once she was prematurely “made a woman” at the hands of one Stanford White. "But as time went on, Evelyn came to see that the majority of White’s other girls fit a disturbingly familiar pattern. They were invariably underage, from poverty-stricken or disadvantaged families with dead or absent fathers; they were usually naive or emotionally needy, starved for attention, many feeling abandoned and sometimes desperately alone in the city.”
Still knowing what White did to take advantage of poor Kittens (Evie) it was nothing on what was coming for her, “Then fate played yet another nasty trick on Evie. As if the scenario weren’t melodramatic enough, what with two men half in and half out of her life, neither of whom could give her wholly what she wanted or needed, a third emerged from out of the shadows. He had simmered there for nearly a year, plotting and pining, sending notes and keeping tabs, then materializing, like some haunted doppelgänger in a bad Gothic thriller, in the form of Harry K. Thaw. The unseen watcher.” Boy, in hindsight this is the scariest line of the book…sends chills up the back of my skull knowing just what I know now about this skulking, doe eyed varmint.
I just hate how she couldn’t catch a break with the kinds of people she attracted and how this Thaw guy knew how to get to her… “One series of anonymous letters that arrived daily for an entire week actually did make an impression upon Evelyn as having been evidently written by a “man of some refinement” who talked at length about books and animals, two of Evelyn’s favorite subjects.” It’s just so sad that inside she was remaining quite childlike but the paradox of the outward appearance brought drooling, dirty older men hunting after her with wicked intentions…though in Thaw’s case…under the guise of being her “rescuer” and it was frustrating to witness him claiming to save this poor “child” from the clutches of her benefactor [White] that was rumored to “destroy” the purity of pubescent girls. When ironically it was ultimately Thaw that brought about her complete destruction. It angers me that he claimed to hate what White was getting away with but he defiled her way worse than what White committed. It was the most disturbing portion of the book I’ll tell you that much…to hear of what he did to her in the name of him being “upset” at what White did to his “Boofuls”.
This truly was an exciting (though at times disturbing) read. Each time I picked it up, no matter where I was, I was always drawn right back into Evelyn’s sordid life. It’s just too bad that her life was fraught with so much scandal when she was just a pawn for so many perverse, selfish people.
Some of my favorite highlights are:
“Herself a product of the Victorian past but with an approach to life that was unconsciously and uncannily modern, Evelyn Nesbit unwittingly embodied the country’s paradoxes and ambiguities at its trembling turn into the twentieth century.”
“Women wanted to be her; men wanted to own her. She became a maddening object of desire, and tragically, a victim of her own beguiling beauty during the “gaudy spree,” which she would help bring to a stunningly shameful end.”
“Irvin S. Cobb, a well-known syndicated columnist and social critic, described her as “the most exquisitely lovely human being I ever looked at—[she had] the slim quick grace of a fawn, a head that sat on her flawless throat as a lily on its stem, eyes that were the color of blue-brown pansies and the size of half dollars; a mouth made of rumpled rose petals.” Yet even as her startling testimony helped push an unsuspecting and unprepared America into the modern age, while canny entrepreneurs sold hastily manufactured little red velvet swings on the street outside the courthouse, as quickly as Evelyn’s star rose, it fell victim to the very culture that created and consumed her.”
“In the girl’s graceful, undeveloped figure, boyish in its thin, lean lines, she saw the perfect embodiment of a kind of ambivalent, classically androgynous spirituality wrestling with the sensuality of her face.”
“Florence Evelyn was dubbed the “modern Helen” by one columnist, and her evocative and soon familiar face launched any number of advertising campaigns as canny entrepreneurs began to capitalize on her uncanny ability to appeal to both sexes and appear chaste and alluring at the same time.”
iamshadow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
bupdaddy's review against another edition
3.0
A few things struck me while reading this, first and foremost of which was, "Evelyn Nesbit was a good writer." She didn't write this book, I know, but she's quoted out of her two memoirs in the book a lot, and the woman could write. I may seek out one of those books, although they may be hard to find.
She was also the smartest person in the cast of people in her life. Stanford White (the murder victim in the Evelyn Nesbit crime we're all vaguely aware of but probably don't remember the names) was pretty darn smart - OK, really smart, if somewhat wicked, but Evelyn played life like a chess game, and she was really good at it. Most of the people around her come off as parasites, but she seems like she was pretty aware of it.
Another thing that struck me often, in the first half of the book, was "I feel icky reading this." I knew I would feel that, and almost didn't read the book because I figured (correctly) there would be a lot of tawdry stuff about taking advantage of a minor girl, but I went ahead and read it. Harry Thaw (the murderer in the crime we're all vaguely familiar with) in particular is hard to read about as he forces himself into Evelyn's life. But if you can get past it, it's a good read.
One final thing that stands out is that she's still got it. Photos 110 years old are as mesmerizing as the Mona Lisa. She's a fascinating woman, and I'm glad a biography that has aimed for objectivity has been written about her.
She was also the smartest person in the cast of people in her life. Stanford White (the murder victim in the Evelyn Nesbit crime we're all vaguely aware of but probably don't remember the names) was pretty darn smart - OK, really smart, if somewhat wicked, but Evelyn played life like a chess game, and she was really good at it. Most of the people around her come off as parasites, but she seems like she was pretty aware of it.
Another thing that struck me often, in the first half of the book, was "I feel icky reading this." I knew I would feel that, and almost didn't read the book because I figured (correctly) there would be a lot of tawdry stuff about taking advantage of a minor girl, but I went ahead and read it. Harry Thaw (the murderer in the crime we're all vaguely familiar with) in particular is hard to read about as he forces himself into Evelyn's life. But if you can get past it, it's a good read.
One final thing that stands out is that she's still got it. Photos 110 years old are as mesmerizing as the Mona Lisa. She's a fascinating woman, and I'm glad a biography that has aimed for objectivity has been written about her.
lkthomas07's review against another edition
3.0
Good, long, interesting. I feel like this could have been a bit shorter and still just as good.