Thursday, September 10, 2015

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-110 - LIVING LARGE: WILNA HERVEY and NAN SMITH

I received a hardcopy of this book from the publisher through an Early Reviewer giveaway on LibraryThing, and the following is my honest opinion.

Unlike most biographies I feel this one had been written by an author, Joseph P. Eckhardt, who had a real compassion for the subject matter being written about, instead of merely writing one because it’s one of a famous individual. However, in this case the biographies of these two women grew out of the author’s love for the Toonerville Trolley silent film comedies of the early 1920’s.

Wilna Hervey had landed the part of Powerful Katrina in these comedies because she was the real life personification of the comic strip character which had started years earlier. This led to her meeting the daughter of her co-star, Nan Mason, which in turn led to the beginning of a beautiful relationship which lasted almost 60 years.

Naturally this sort of relationship between two women was essentially kept behind closed doors during this time, or in artist communities where a bohemian type of lifestyle was the norm. They ultimately settled in the town of Woodstock in New York, which has been an active artist community since The Arts and Crafts Movement came there in 1902.

It is a love story based on a shared love of the arts more than one of a sexual nature. And their love people led them to become star citizens of this free-spirited town.

For opening the eyes of everyone reading this book about these two “large” women, I’m happy to give it 5 STARS !!!


UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0967926882

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