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Gypsy Rose Lee
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The G-String Murders (Femmes Fatales Book 8) Kindle Edition

by Gypsy Rose Lee (Author), Rachel Shteir (Afterword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 68 ratings
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“Burlesque is the background . . . [and] the background is perfect. Recommended for the readers who feel better when their eyebrows are raised.” —The New Yorker

A mystery set in the underworld of burlesque theater, The G-String Murders was penned in 1941 by the legendary queen of the stripteasers—the witty and wisecracking Gypsy Rose Lee. Narrating a twisted tale of a backstage double murder, Lee provides a fascinating look behind the scenes of burlesque, richly populated by the likes of strippers Lolita LaVerne and Gee Gee Graham, comic Biff Brannigan and Siggy the g-string salesman. This is a world where women struggle to earn a living performing bumps and grinds, have gangster boyfriends, sip beer between acts and pay their own way at dinner.

Femmes Fatales restores to print the best of women’s writing in the classic pulp genres of the mid-20th century. From mystery to hard-boiled noir to taboo lesbian romance, these rediscovered queens of pulp offer subversive perspectives on a turbulent era. Enjoy the series: Bedelia; Bunny Lake Is Missing; By Cecile; The G-String Murders; The Girls in 3-B; Laura; The Man Who Loved His Wife; Mother Finds a Body; Now, Voyager; Return to Lesbos; Skyscraper; Stranger on Lesbos; Stella Dallas; Women’s Barracks.

“[Lee’s] novel is a rich and lusty job, brimming over with infectious vitality and a hilarious jargon of her own.” —Life

“A lurid, witty and highly competent detective story . . . Rich show business vocabulary and stage door gags make her book almost a social document . . . The G-String Murders builds up to a hair-raising climax.” —Time
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  1. Print length
    284 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    The Feminist Press at CUNY
  5. Publication date
    August 10, 2012
  6. File size
    2106 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Burlesque is the background . . . [and] the background is perfect. Recommended for the readers who feel better when their eyebrows are raised." ―The New Yorker

"[Lee's] novel is a rich and lusty job, brimming over with infectious vitality and a hilarious jargon of her own." ―Life

"A lurid, witty and highly competent detective story . . . Rich show business vocabulary and stage door gags make her book almost a social document. . . . The G-String Murders build up to a hair-raising climax." ―Time

"Burlesque is the background . . . [and] the background is perfect. Recommended for the readers who feel better when their eyebrows are raised." —The New Yorker

"[Lee's] novel is a rich and lusty job, brimming over with infectious vitality and a hilarious jargon of her own." —Life

"A lurid, witty and highly competent detective story . . . Rich show business vocabulary and stage door gags make her book almost a social document. . . . The G-String Murders build up to a hair-raising climax." —Time

About the Author

Gypsy Rose Lee (1911-1970) was the most acclaimed strip tease artist of her day. She later made 12 films and hosted her own TV show. Her autobiography Gypsy spawned the famed musical and two film versions.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009KSGRAK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Feminist Press at CUNY (August 10, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 10, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2106 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 68 ratings

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Gypsy Rose Lee

Gypsy Rose Lee

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
68 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Lorie B
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Surprise
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
First person past tense used very effectively in my opinion. All the main characters have their personality quirks and speech idioms. I grew to like & care what might happen to them. (They were so unique, I wondered if they were based on people Gypsy Rose Lee knew in real life.)

Lee has a light tone with quick one-liners-- even if she makes up a word now & again, or maybe it's slang.

---
"Sugar Bun Kelly and Joyce Janice were sitting at the Eltinge table, outminking each other. On their arms they wore enough railroad fare home to take care of a stranded Chautauqua."
---

In the story, Lee uses the 'cliffhanger' device (at the end of chapters) very sparingly. So the book's not a page turner I couldn't put down, but it's not padded with unnecessarily detail either-- a matter of personal taste of course.

The story has a conclusive standalone ending with no unresolved 'cliffhanger sequel' gimmick to try and sell readers 'book two.'

Plot-- somewhat weak:

OK, Gypsy Rose Lee was no Chandler or MacDonald, so the 'whodunit' game might move a little slow or be considered weak by some. I enjoyed reading the book because it was as much about friendships and life in the theater as it was about finding out who strangled the dancers.

The ending was wrapped up rather quickly. One character had suspected who was the killer but needed proof. Gypsy had to be put in danger because it was the only way to get the bad guy to incriminate himself. After that, the police were ready to make the arrest when Lee threw in a believable plot twist.

Bottom Line:

I'm glad to have found a "new" writer who is witty, succinct, and clever with plot twists. Was amazed by the original publication date. A fun surprise!
One person found this helpful
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Gary F. Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Portrait of the Lost World of Burlesque
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2017
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Gypsy Rose Lee, aka Rose Louise Hovick (1911-1970), is best recalled as one of the very few—possibly the only—strip tease performers who became a household name during an era when such performers were not mentioned at the family dinner table. But her talents were not confined to the burlesque stage: she was a noted commentator and writer. Today the most famous of her works is the memoir GYPSY, which became the basis for the celebrated 1959 musical, but she was also the author of a play, The Naked Genius (1943), and two novels, The G-String Murders (1941) and Mother Finds a Body (1942.) The G-String Murders was a popular success, and in 1943 it was adapted to the screen as Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck.

The G-String Murder is a murder mystery featuring Gypsy Rose as the narrator. In the novel, she is a featured performer in a New York burlesque theatre known as “The Old Opera Theatre” and romantically inclined to Brannigan, the lead comic in the show. There is plenty of conflict backstage, much of it centering on Lolita LaVerne, a stripper with the nasty habit of picking up other women’s men—even so, it is still a shock when Lolita turns up strangled to death, a G-string the weapon of choice.

In terms of plot, Gypsy Rose Lee wasn’t in the same league with Agatha Christie, and the convolutions tend to be excessive and the solution somewhat out of the hat. (In truth, the film does a better job, streamlining the plot into an unexpected plausibility.) But nobody really read The G-String Murders for it’s mystery; they read it for its portrait of burlesque theatre, and that’s something it delivers in full. At the time, Gypsy Rose Lee was criticized for the book’s off-color language, situations, and (for the time) somewhat shocking details. She responded to the criticism with the comment that it was an accurate portrait of backstage life in the burlesque theatre, and those associated with the business backed her up. The characters are vivid, their way of speaking is memorable, and the author captures a mixture of the glamorous and the tawdry in a way that makes the book compulsively readable. It may not be great literature, but it’s the sort of book you pick up one afternoon and finish later that night.

There has always been speculation that the book was ghosted in full or in part, with Gypsy Rose Lee’s name slapped on the cover to give the thing appeal. It does seem extremely likely that she had considerable help from friend and mystery novelist Craig Rice (aka Georgiana Craig) and possibly one or two others, but scholars who have investigated the matter report that enough of the original manuscript exists to prove that the bulk of the novel was indeed written by Gypsy Rose Lee herself, with the contribution of others generally limited to editorial input. The tone of the book itself seems to imply a central author, with the narrative voice strong, memorable, and similar to the way in which Gypsy Rose Lee spoke and to her other writings.

The G-String Murders is not and never will be placed among the great titles of the murder mystery genre, but it offers a surprisingly open portrait of a theatrical era and performance venue that is long gone, hounded out of existence by the puritanical. The Kindle edition comes with an entertaining and informative afterword by Rachel Shteir. It’s a fun read and memorable piece. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
4 people found this helpful
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Joseph Foosh
5.0 out of 5 stars Great old noir story
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2019
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Good story by burlesque star about a burlesque business murder, 40’s style noir, fun, not Dash Hammett but still...
2 people found this helpful
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Charlene Crabtree
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2014
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sort of drags a bit but kind of funny
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Robert Strom
5.0 out of 5 stars Gypsy & Murder!
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2010
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Great book written with humor and flair by the one and only Gypsy Rose Lee! Very entertaining... check out the movie based on this book... "Lady of Burlesque" starring Barbara Stanwyck.
3 people found this helpful
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Warren A. Lewis
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2023
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While this book doesn't have the captivating plot and finish of most detective novels, when one realizes that it isn't written by one who was trained in the world of writing, then it is quite good. Her future attempts at writing are probably much better. Very interesting.
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Charles L. Ross
2.0 out of 5 stars It’s a grind to read. Bumpy too.
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2019
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Disappointing as a murder mystery. The details on burlesque and the amusing dialogue can’t compensate for the slow plot. The most interesting writing is the addendum of letters Gypsy Rose Lee wrote to her editors.
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Kaleigh
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2013
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I was curious about her ability to write after reading her memoirs and I was not disappointed. Much like watching an old black and white movie mystery, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you liked The Thin Man or enjoy similar black and white movies from that era, you will enjoy this book.
4 people found this helpful
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