The Show Girl

A Novel

By: Nicola Harrison

Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Nicola Harrison's The Show Girl gives a glimpse of the glamorous world of the Ziegfeld Follies, through the eyes of a young midwestern woman who comes to New York City to find her destiny as a Ziegfeld Follies star.

It's 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more - even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way.

Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy - the only man she's ever met who seems to accept her modern ways - her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2021 Nicola Harrison (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

LOVED IT

I listened at a 1.5 speed. Made it more enjoyable for me. Thought the story was great.

Excellent historical fiction

I am always looking for a good historical fiction other than WWII books. This was excellent and I was engaged from the start! Good narrator for the subject. Highly recommend it!

Was it the writing or the VO?

Maybe it was the source material or just an affected 1920’s voiceover style, but I hate listened to the entire book, because I spent a credit.

Great adventure and drama

Loved this story. It started out a little slow to me but very soon I couldn't wait to keep listening!

Very enjoyable read

I loved learning what the late 1920s may have been like for a regular family with an adventurous daughter who became a famous showgirl on Broadway.

Good characters, I especially loved the female character running a speakeasy with an acid tongue. Reminded me of Mae West a bit.

And not to give away any storylines, and I will just recommend you give this a try.

Narrator did an excellent job portraying different characters.

Speed up the narration

The default narration speed is too slow (1.0) if you speed it up to 1.2 it will significantly improve this book. The book being read at 1.2 seemed far more natural so natural I wonder if the publisher deliberately slowed it down.

The Roaring 20's thru the eyes of a showgirl

Well researched and well performed. The life of Olive Shine, Zeigfield Girl, comes to life under Ms Harrison's pen.

What a great story !!!

This was a wonderful book !! Characters were well developed , great storyline and very interesting throughout the entire book .

Right up my alley!!!

Loved the era, and the backdrop for this Show Girl inspired novel… It brought me back to my performance days in Ice Skating shows! From the performing and
rehearsals and the backstage antics and after show fun to the real life and decisions that have to made it was a joy to listen to!
This depiction of the era of time how dating was and how women were viewed in comparison to now was so intriguing. The author and narrator were fantastic! Throughly enjoyed!!

Great story. I enjoyed the book very much.

The life of a showgirl is glitzy and glamorous, but riddled with off stage drama. It makes for a great story. A very entertaining book that includes many themes and historical references. My only negative comment was the ending was unrealistic. It might have been more convincing if the storyline had included one of the main characters ending in true devastation from historical events. The ending was almost too happy.