Book
Star quality / Joan Collins.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781401300005 :
- ISBN: 9781401300005
- ISBN: 1401300006
- ISBN: 1401300006 :
- ISBN: 0786890487 (pbk.)
- Physical Description: 354 p. ; 26 cm.
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : Hyperion, c2002.
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Domestic fiction. Domestic fiction. |
| Topic Heading: | Actresses - Fiction |
Available copies
- 2 of 3 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 0 of 1 copy available at Castlegar Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar Public Library | FIC COL (Text) | 35146001030709 | Fiction | Not holdable | Missing | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 October 2002
Millie McClancey, a feisty, redheaded maid in an English manor house during World War I, knows that her future will be onstage after seeing her first revue in the gritty music halls of London. With the support of young master Toby, who encouraged her budding skills as a singer, Millie makes a name for herself in small London clubs, and soon becomes the quintessential flapper, the fantasy of every male, the idol of every female. But Toby is the only man she loves. When he promises to marry her, she sleeps with him and becomes pregnant--only to learn that he wants nothing to do with her. Millie's daughter, Vickie, becomes the second generation to make it big, lighting up the 1940s silver screen. Both women are seen as fast and loose, but their exploits usher in a new age of female independence, and the third generation--Vickie's daughter, Lulu, rising to fame during the drug-crazed 1980s--is no exception. Collins' depiction of the mood of each era is on point, and she embroiders the starlets' cliched stories with intriguing characters and revenge-seeking enemies. A delicious romp sure to charm fans of easy and even sleazy reading. ((Reviewed October 1, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2002 August #2
Clunky potboiler from the former queen of B-movies and TV soaps, starring the descendants of a humble Irish housemaid who reach the heights of Hollywood stardom.Young Millie McClancey, orphaned by the 1917 influenza epidemic, takes a job in the London house of a duke--and gets noticed by his dissolute son, who can't resist her flame-red curls, cerulean eyes, and whatnot. Her ruination begins innocently enough: Tobias Swannell, handsome, swaggering heir to the dukedom and all its properties, loves to hear the sweet young thing sing music-hall airs, but her impromptu concerts lead to significant fooling around on the sofa. Pregnant and disgraced, Millie is cast out by the stern butler, then befriended by an elderly (and fortunately homosexual) theater producer, who puts her on the stage and arranges for someone else to care for her illegitimate daughter. Soon the toast of London and then New York, Millie throws all her energy into her career, warbling away in near-nudity and thrilling audiences that include sexy gangster Marco Novello. Millie's inevitable slide into drink and depression--and her mysterious death in an explosion--put her daughter Vickie next in line for stardom, aided by Marco. Not getting the role of Scarlett O'Hara is a setback, but pin-up fame during WWII awaits, plus innumerable parts in lousy movies. Much-married Vickie moves on to the perverted grandson of the dissolute duke, not knowing that there's an incestuous link. Her daughter Lulu, sired by the love of her life (a Gary Cooper clone), becomes a world-famous model known for her sultry sensuality and lesbian affairs. As a child, she accidentally saw the Cooper clone banging away lustily at her naked Mummy, turning her off men forever--except for one hot night with a paid superstud, resulting in a daughter, also Millie, who becomes an overnight rock superstar at 14.Lots of steam but no real heat, from the ever-shameless Collins (Infamous, 1996, etc.). Copyright Kirkus 2002 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2002 September #2
Like mother, like daughter, like granddaughter-the notion of history repeating itself functions as both plot frame and theme in Collins's latest novel, a multigenerational saga that spans a century of family triumphs and tragedies set against the backdrop of the ever-changing entertainment industry. Millie McClancey is just a naïve Irish lass when, having been compromised by a roguish nobleman, she takes to England's music hall stages, wowing London and New York. In the 1940s, Millie's illegitimate and far more sophisticated daughter, Vickie, becomes a Hollywood sensation. And Vickie's wild child, Lulu, becomes a supermodel in the '80s before turning to the soaps. Through it all, most of their misfortunes may be attributed to Patsy, an enemy Millie made in her youth, and Patsy's grudge-carrying descendants. Like overteased hairstyles and television programs about oil barons, this benign offering has a passé feel. Derivative of just about everything-Moll Flanders, The Godfather, Funny Girl, Valley of the Dolls-it even has Bugs Bunny gangsters ("Yeah, boss, yeah, good idea"). For readers who make it to the closing curtain of this sprawling camp extravaganza, the ultimate message-while years and fashions may be different, "nothing changes"-will come as no surprise. (Nov.) Forecast: Appearances on the Today show, 20/20, Larry King Live and The View should help Collins cut her usual swath. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
