TYPORAMA
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PRAISE FOR THE ADORED ONE:
"Broadway of over a hundred years ago comes vividly to life in this story of the enchanting showgirl Lillian Lorraine. You will cheer for this gorgeous survivor all the way." -- author Stephanie Cowell
“A theater darling comes into her own during a period of artistic transformation in the thrilling novel The Adored One.”– Foreword Reviews
"Talented, beautiful, fiercely independent, flighty....there aren't enough adjectives to describe the
intensely sympathetic and heartbreakingly reckless Lillian Lorraine.
Everything that can go wrong in a life, and everything that can go
right, it's all there. To read Susanne Dunlap's THE ADORED ONE is to ride the roller coaster to this turn-of-the-twentieth-century Broadway star's career--and passions --right alongside her. Buckle up; it's a wild ride. I enjoyed THE ADORED ONE immensely." -- Mitchell James Kaplan, author of RHAPSODY
"Long before the Me Too movement, the Broadway scene was full of older men seducing and/or forcing younger women into a position where they felt they had no choice but to do as they were told. However, Lillian understands she, in turn, holds power over this influential man [Ziegfeld]. -- Chanticleer
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I was waiting to go on for one of my beauty numbers, wearing the most expensive costume of all. It was just about the time for me to run daintily onto the stage, and I cleared my throat for my song and loosened my jaw to get rid of any tension that would make my voice tight. I stepped forward to go on stage. RRRip! It’s an awful sound, one no actress wants to hear seconds before going on stage. I figured I’d got the sequined fabric caught on a nail sticking up from the floor or something. But when I turned to check, there was Fanny, her foot planted on my hem; just below a tear it would be impossible to mend.
“Oops.” Fanny folded her arms across her chest and stared straight into my eyes. I’d never seen an expression like that on her face before. Bitter, angry, sad, all mixed up together.
“What are you doing?” I still hoped it was an accident, that she’d just let me go on and we could talk about it after the show.
“I’m sure I don’t know. What the hell are you doing with my fella?” Fanny said it right out loud. Everyone in the wings heard her, and probably some people in the audience.
I was mad at myself and mad at Fred, but I took it out on Fanny. “Just because you can’t keep a man doesn’t mean I did anything!”
I heard the gasps and then the silence. Before I could turn and go on stage, Fanny was on top of me, grabbing at my costume, my headdress, my hair. “Why, you!”
Nothing gets me riled up like having people get the wrong end of things and blaming me. I didn’t go after Fred, he came after me! She should be doing this to him! I gave it right back to her, scratching and kicking. It felt good to thrash out and punch someone, even though after a minute I didn’t know why. I wasn’t just angry at the situation I’d gotten into, I was mad at my life.
“Stop it!” Bert Williams, risking his career for even touching us, took hold of each of our shoulders and separated us. “You missed your cue,” he said to me. He took out a hankie and wiped a little blood off a scratch on my face.
But I was still white hot. “No, I haven’t!” Before he could stop me I stormed onto the set. The look on the chorines’ faces when they saw me come out a total wreck—hair a mess, gown torn, makeup running—made me laugh. No one could keep me from doing my part. They’d been singing their background without me, but I started the number over and performed it all the way through like it was nothing. At the end the audience laughed and clapped anyway, probably thinking what I did was a clever variation, something to change things up a bit, like a staged police raid.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susanne Dunlap is the award-winning author of more than a dozen historical novels for adults and teens.
Her love of historical fiction arose partly from her studies in music history at Yale University (PhD, 1999), partly from her lifelong interest in women in the arts as a pianist and non-profit performing arts executive.
Her novel THE PARIS AFFAIR won first place in its category in the CIBA Dante Rossetti awards for Young Adult Fiction.
THE MUSICIAN'S DAUGHTER was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street Children's Book of the Year.
Susanne earned her BA and MA (musicology) from Smith College, and lives in Biddeford, ME.
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