Flappers

Julia Franklin's performance is every bit as spirited as the six women who represent the spirit of the Roaring Twenties in Mackrell's gossipy biography. At a time when women didn't "roar," these scandalous women danced, doped, and drank their way through the international art and literary scenes, and the public loved it. Franklin delivers the fascinating stories of heiresses Lady Diana Cooper and Nancy Cunard, actress Tallulah Bankhead, painter Tamara de Lempicka, dancer Josephine Baker, and author Zelda Fitzgerald. Franklin colors each wild, reckless act, each self-indulgent rationalization, with an appropriate gloss that mirrors each woman. Mackrell's anecdotes and Franklin's impeccable portrayals remind us that the cult of celebrity is not original with the current plugged-in generation. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine