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Barbara Ewing Writer and Actress
The odd thing
about "The Actresses" - reprinted now all over the world after twenty-one
years - is that it seems so relevant to today and to all the various
stories and revelations about Hollywood and Show Business that have now
spread out into many other countries and professions.
But when I
wrote that novel I was trying to write about how actresses became
irrelevant when they were no longer young: to write a true story
about actresses lives, to tell it like it really was. And so of course all
the accounts of powerful, unscrupulous producers and directors, and
desperate, ambitious performers, are all there anyway. But: Note the cover
Why are middle-aged women invisible on book covers?
- The Guardian
Actresses
are, after all, simply a metaphor for women in general. And I think we are
in the middle of a new revolution. And if all that sounds too heavy and
serious this is just to say: "The Actresses" is also a thriller!
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"For Barbara Ewing, history is not
merely a decorative background for romance, but the very centre of a
passionate and enthralling intellectual adventure." "Ewing’s
depictions of the theatre world, the battle between mesmerists and
physicians, her portrait of the London streets, are all first-rate.... a
consistently entertaining, amusing and enlightening novel - what more can
one ask?"
"Ms Ewing.. knows how to create believable yet memorable characters, to
evoke place and to tell a story which takes hold of the reader and holds them enthralled
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through tears and laughter - from the first page to the last."
"Oh
yes! This one’s a ripper this Victorian romantic thriller does everything
books of this genre ought to do, in spades" "A
delightful plum pudding of a historical novel" |
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"Ewing, herself an
actress, weaves a plot as complex as fair-isle knitting, darting teasingly
between past and present, and fastens off all the threads so that the
pattern is satisfyingly complete." BOOK OF THE WEEK:
"Ideal if you want to run away with the
circus." "...The book reminds me
of Angela Carter's "Nights at the Circus" both in its scope and its vivid
exuberance....... Highly Recommended."
"...a clearer view of New Zealand society than we who live here can have.
BOOK OF THE WEEK "..written with insight, intelligence and style, a highly
engaging and entertaining read." "Ewing
is an accomplished storyteller who puts the pleasure of her readers first." |
