Starring Adele Astaire

Starring Adele Astaire by Eliza Knight 400 pages

 

I’m sure that most people who read this know who Fred Astaire is. But just in case, he was one of the world’s greatest dancers, in vaudeville, the silent movies and the grand sweeping musicals from MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood. But few recall how he started out, dancing with his sister, Adele (or Delly as she was nicknamed off-stage). She was the older of the dancing duo, and they began dancing together since they were barely out of diapers. This novel covers the years from 1923 until 1945, with an Epilogue from 1954.

 

Adele wasn’t only a dancer; she was a consummate comedian/actress who was deeply loved by her fans. And while Freddie is a major part in the first two-thirds of the book, his role dwindles as time goes by, and they grow up. Fred believed in practice, practice, practice. Adele believed in being prepared, but she also liked to have a good time. More often than not she and her friends would hit the clubs after the show, dancing ‘til dawn.

 

Adele also had different dreams than Fred. Her heart’s greatest desire was to be a wife and a mother. Oh, how she longed for motherhood. She meets the man of her dreams; Lord Charles Cavendish and her life is never the same. However, like most of us, life doesn’t turn out like we expect.

 

Adele and Fred received the adoration of the States they were also a HUGE hit in the UK. Londoners wanted nothing more than to see them dance or hang out with them. 

 

I’m a huge fan of Freddie’s (Will I ever be able to call him Fred again after reading this book?), but I have never seen Adele dance. Thank God for YouTube.  I enjoyed going down that rabbit hole. There isn’t much, but what there is, well it’s amazing!  Compared to Adele, Ginger Rogers, Freddie’s most famous dancing partner, had two left feet.

 

Although there isn’t much tension in this novel, it’s a solid work of biographical fiction that kept this reader’s interested through the entire 400 pages. Starring Adele Astaire receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.