American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the...

American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the Century | Paula Uruburu | I wish I could give this book 6 stars!

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American Eve: Evel...

	American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the Century Paula Uruburu Riverhead Hardcover, 2008 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

ALL ABOUT EVE...

Paula Uruburu's AMERICAN EVE: EVELYN NESBIT, STANFORD WHITE, THE BIRTH OF THE "IT" GIRL AND THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY is a first-rate, spirited and entertaining chronicle involving sex, celebrity, murder, media frenzy and a dead hippo.

Uruburu's exhilarating tale begins in NYC during the final hours of 1899--an "Eden" where Nesbit, the titular Eve and "Little Sphinx," rises from poverty and obscurity to become the preeminent model and pin-up girl of the day. Part Ophelia, part Salome, the inscrutable Nesbit (also an actress and Gibson girl) captures the fancy of famed architect Stanford White, the "Pharaoh of Fifth Avenue" whose contributions to the "priapic city" included the gilded bronze weathervane of a scandalously nude Diana--appropriately, the goddess of the hunt and chastity--that sat atop the second Madison Square Garden (which White designed).

Notorious for plucking ripe "tomatoes" from the stage to add to his Garden, the married, lustful and predatory "Great White" (who was three times Nesbit's age) fawns over Nesbit, wooing her with money, charm and a red velvet swing. Although Nesbit was only 16, White initiates the fall of this Eve during a night of lights, mirrors, a canopied bed and too much champagne. Awakening in "an abbreviated pink undergarment" and with a nude White next to her, Nesbit is told by the architect, "Don't cry kittens. It's all over. Now you belong to me."

Not quite. Enter Mad Harry--Harry K. Thaw of Pittsburgh--with a carnivorous appetite and penchant for forbidden fruit as well. The heir-apparent to a $40 million coke and railroad fortune, Thaw was a puritanical vigilante with a history of mental illness and a hatred for White. Nesbit is initially wary of Thaw's dichotomous personality--he could be charming and tyrannical, solicitous and sadistic--and her instincts (which she ignores) unfortunately prove sound, as the 17-year-old Nesbit suffers another violation, and one night is raped and beaten with a leather riding crop by Thaw.

Nesbit's relationship with Thaw and White--both men are hedonistic, controlling and bitter rivals--is compelling and, ultimately, sad, as Thaw's virgin complex and mounting obsession with White's despoilment of Nesbit leads to murder and Nesbit's downfall in White's Garden: On June 25, 1906, three shots ring out during a performance of Mamzelle Champagne. As White drops dead to the floor, Thaw shouts in defense, "I did it because he ruined my wife!"

AMERICAN EVE then chronicles the "Crime of the Century" and the media storm that followed--an explosion of yellow journalism and the defamation and assassination of Nesbit's character--the woman who "put one man in the grave and another in the bughouse." Uruburu's depiction of the protracted court case is tiptop and accentuates her greatest strength as a biographer: the ability to inject verve, vitality and narrative flair into a historical account. AMERICAN EVE is peppered with colorful prose, humor and élan that spring off the page. Those wary of dreary, stuffy biographies weighted down by tedious storytelling and a profusion of facts and footnotes need not worry. Uruburu's confident, consistent and dynamic voice is the perfect complement to this lurid, page-turning piece of American history.

Uruburu places these events in their historical context, delineating an America in transition, while also drawing comparisons to today's culture. But the story always returns, as it should, to Nesbit. This is her story, and Uruburu is in no way ambiguous about that. She does not paint this tragic beauty as a flawless saint, nor does she shy away from her subject's sometime inconsistent (and inaccurate) testimony. What Uruburu does, and does well, is give voice to Nesbit's side of the story. It is only fitting that the epilogue is entitled "The Fallen Idol" and underscored by this 1934 quotation from Ms. Nesbit: "The tragedy wasn't that Stanford White died, but that I lived."

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I wish I could give this book 6 stars!

I haven't finished reading it yet because I'm trying to drag it out as long as I can. First of all, it's a fascinating and terrible story but Ms. Uruburu has done an incredible job in building the plot to just where it needs to go, keeping the tension as tight as possible to propell the reader into the next portion of the story. Outstanding! There is no other word for such a fine piece of writing, such an enthralling piece of writing.

Intriguing Glimpse into a Past World

A book I couldn't wait to get to each time I picked it up - fascinating glimpse into what life was like 100 years ago (not as different as I assumed). The book chronicles Evelyn's life up to and right after the Stanford White Murder - It would have been interesting to learn more of her turbulent life post-Stanford White - She lived into the 1960's. But alas, that is another book. If you enjoy history, and "juicy" stories, you'll enjoy this book.

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A Very Happy Customer

The book American Eve is brillantly written. It is not only a juicy celebrity gossipy tale, but to me it is a true piece of work with a strong timeless theme. Reading the book will make you feel as if you are living in the turn of the 20th century until your cell phone or any other modern nuisance jars you out of your post victorian wonderland. The book arrived promptly with a valuable coupon inside. I will always get my reading material from Amazon. Very pleased with my service. 5 stars easily.

Mostly Good, but not Great

This tale has all of the forbidden Victorian elements that kept it front page press for over a month: obscene riches, deathly beauty, the rakish ways of a old man, a crazy man a family just couldn't contain, and finally, murder. When I was first intrigued by this tale, I decided to buy this book, instead of E. Nesbit's own biographies, because I wanted analysis and interpretation of events, instead of just reporting them from a certain perspective. With this book, I'm glad I made this choice.

This is a crisply written book that holds attention and compels you to flip to the next page. The book is well researched, and all threads of the tale are brought together into a cohesive story.

Why I take off one star: First, the book comes up short in Evelyn's post-Thaw life. After the entire hubris faded away, her life went on with difficulties: her mediocre theater career, her alcohol and morphine addictions, and suicide attempts. Her son went on to become an ace WWII pilot. Evelyn's tale after her 30th birthday is also heart breaking interesting, but this section is cut woefully short. Then, some juicy tidbits didn't make it, such as Thaw's masochism during their marriage, and White's activities with other under-age girls.

So, the story is great - just not complete.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6

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