It started when I was a girl watching old movies on our black and white television. In those days, I preferred Gene Autry, Andy Hardy, and Ma and Pa Kettle. When we moved to Detroit I discovered Bill Kennedy's Showtime. I was hooked all summer long. Jimmy Stewart became my favorite actor, but I watched swashbucklers, too.
My folks didn't have money to take us to movie theaters but we did go to the drive-in theater. When the sun went down, I was supposed to fall asleep on the back seat. Instead, I was riveted to the movie. The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Birds, and Marnie were some of the most memorable.
I became a Hitchcock fan, watching his television series, and I even had a book of scary stories with Hitch on the cover. Later in life, I watched every television broadcast of his movies. And that is how I first saw Grace Kelley--in Rear Window and To Catch a Thief.
My husband's favorite movie is High Noon, starring Kelley in her first movie role. And he was a Clark Gable fan back in the day, so I saw Kelley in Mogambo.
It was not until a few years ago that I saw Kelley in her Oscar-winning performance in The Country Girl. There was this beautiful, young actress made up plain and dowdy, her emotion so concentrated I could see the flames shooting from her eyes. Wowzer! This was not the elegant model offering Cary Grant a chance to handle her jewels.
I knew that Kelley was from Philadelphia. We had driven on Kelley Drive. And I knew that Kelley had died in a tragic car accident of unknown origin. And that she had married a prince and had two beautiful daughters who were sometimes the news.
That's it, folks. That was all I knew. And what better way to learn more than by reading Wikipedia and IMBD---kidding. What better way to learn more than by reading a historical fiction novel that imagines the hidden stories?
Several times I skipped over The Girl in White Gloves (PLEASE--no more 'girl' titles, people!) by Keri Maher when I saw it on NetGalley, but each time it caught my attention. I try hard to keep my requests in line as I am committed to doing justice to every title I get. I caved--what's one more book to the pile?
In the first chapter, I learned that Kelley had been offered the title role in Hitchcock's Marnie and was unable to accept! MARNIE! The movie that I watched from the back seat of the car, that disturbed me and made me return to it again and again to 'get it'. I read Winston Graham's Marnie a few years back after a chance to see the movie at a local repertoire theater when Tippi Hendron visited and told the audience about the movie. How could a princess accept a role about a troubled woman leading a double life, with a hatred of men and a penchant for theft? Who was made love to by a young Sean Connery?
Okay. That was enough to keep me turning pages.
In a few chapters, I learned that Kelley had played Tracy Lord in a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story! One of my very favorite movies! How did I get to be in my sixth decade without having seen High Society? Arrggh!
At the end of the story, I learned that at age forty-seven, Kelley became involved with poetry festivals, reciting poems! Including Maya Angelou.
I might also mention that Kelley was a knitter.
Maher admits to a dearth of sources for critical times in Kelley's life, like her long correspondence with Prince Rainier after their first meeting in Monaco. She 'took many liberties' for 'dramatic compression', which translates to providing a 'good read', and she speculates on the details of her relationships with men, her family, and the cause of her death. Hey, it's fiction. Get over it.
The story hits on all of the major events and films of Kelley's career. It also portrays Kelley as a woman driven to achieve excellence but conflicted by parental expectations that a woman's goal is to marry and bear children. You've had a bit of freedom, played make-believe, now it's time to grow up and become a responsible adult as a real June Cleaver, supporting your husband and bearing his children. Well, that role did not suit Kelley; Maher takes us into the marriage bed and it was positively Arctic.
Well, I gave up wanting to be a princess before I was five years old. Between Kelley and Princesses Diana and Sarah, it is quite clear the downsides far outweigh the perks.
I read a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
The Girl in White Gloves: A NOVEL OF GRACE KELLY
By KERRI MAHER
Feb 25, 2020
ISBN 9780451492074
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