Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution
Vernon and Irene Castle popularized ragtime dancing in the years just before World War I and made dancing a respectable pastime in America. The whisper-thin, elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways: they traveled with a black orchestra, had an openly lesbian manager, and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue. Irene was also a fashion innovator, bobbing her hair ten years before the flapper look of the 1920s became popular. From their marriage in 1911...
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Vernon and Irene Castle popularized ragtime dancing in the years just before World War I and made dancing a respectable pastime in America. The whisper-thin, elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways: they traveled with a black orchestra, had an openly lesbian manager, and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue. Irene was also a fashion innovator, bobbing her hair ten years before the flapper look of the 1920s became popular. From their marriage in 1911 until 1916, the Castles were the most famous and influential dance team in the world. Their dancing schools and nightclubs were packed with society figures and white-collar workers alike. After their peak of white-hot fame, Vernon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps, served at the front lines, and was killed in a 1918 airplane crash. Irene became a movie star and appeared in more than a dozen films between 1917 and 1922. The Castles were depicted in the Fred Astaire—Ginger Rogers movie The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), but the film omitted most of the interesting and controversial aspects of their lives. They were more complex than posterity would have it: Vernon was charming but irresponsible, Irene was strong-minded but self-centered, and the couple had filed for divorce before Vernon's death (information that has never before been made public). Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution is the fascinating story of a couple who reinvented dance and its place in twentieth-century culture. Joan Stahl - Library Journal In the years before World War I, Vernon and Irene Castle launched a dance revolution. Golden (Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway) chronicles their break from tradition as they danced to lively ragtime music in fashionable settings, traveled with a black orchestra, and created such dances as the Castle walk and the Castle polka. Impeccably dressed, thin, and elegant, they were glamorous trendsetters, particularly Irene, whose innovations included bobbed hair, headbands, and little Dutch bonnets. They opened dance schools and nightclubs for those who did not feel comfortable in public dance halls and beer gardens, and in doing so, they made dancing socially acceptable. With Vernon's untimely death in 1918, the Castle phenomenon began to wane, but their legend lived on in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle(1939) starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire and through Irene's reminiscences in her books My Husband(1919) and Castles in the Air(1958). Golden, author of four other biographies, has done a commendable job separating fact from fiction. Recommended for dance collections in public and academic libraries.
\ Library JournalIn the years before World War I, Vernon and Irene Castle launched a dance revolution. Golden (Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway) chronicles their break from tradition as they danced to lively ragtime music in fashionable settings, traveled with a black orchestra, and created such dances as the Castle walk and the Castle polka. Impeccably dressed, thin, and elegant, they were glamorous trendsetters, particularly Irene, whose innovations included bobbed hair, headbands, and little Dutch bonnets. They opened dance schools and nightclubs for those who did not feel comfortable in public dance halls and beer gardens, and in doing so, they made dancing socially acceptable. With Vernon's untimely death in 1918, the Castle phenomenon began to wane, but their legend lived on in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle(1939) starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire and through Irene's reminiscences in her books My Husband(1919) and Castles in the Air(1958). Golden, author of four other biographies, has done a commendable job separating fact from fiction. Recommended for dance collections in public and academic libraries.\ —Joan Stahl\ \ \ \ \ \ From the Publisher""Golden makes a contribution to scholarship in dance and theatre studies through a well-constructed and well-researched biography of two fascinating people. Golden has obviously done a great deal of research, and her understanding of the Castles is engagingly delivered and told with compassion, humor, and telling detail." --Ann Dils, coeditor of Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader" --\ ""Eve Golden writes an engaging story filled with interesting tidbits of information about her subjects and the period in which they were most well-known." --Renée Camus, Founder and Artistic Director of Centuries Historical Dance" --\ ""Golden, author of four other biographies, has done a commendable job separating fact from fiction." --Library Journal" --\ ""Eve Golden has written a highly readable book about this fascinating couple who ushered Americans into the Jazz Age with their fancy footwork and elegant style." --King Features Syndicate" --\ ""As a cultural history, Ragtime Revolution has a you-are-there feel, painting a compelling portrait of early 20th-century American entertainment. Well-researched and informative, it's also a tribute to the allure of dance." --Fern Siegel, New York Post" --\ ""In writing her book, Eve Golden examined testimony from Irene's son, a collection of Vernon's letters and Irene's personal scrapbooks. The result is a biography that is as close to the truth as we are apt to get, especially after the passage of so much time."--Larry Cox, Star-Herald" --\ ""A highly entertaining, informative new book.""Highly recommended for those interested in the music and pop culture of the period." -- Steve Ramm, In the Groove magazine" --\ ""It's been a while since Eve Golden has published a new book, but Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution is, of course, definitely worth the wait.""An Eve Golden book is never dull, but lively, interesting and downright succulent. I savor every word on every page, marveling at the keenness of thought and the unique grasp of an era none of us were alive to experience firsthand. Nevertheless, through Golden's vibrant writing, we become a part of the Castle's world. Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution floats along like a good dance step. Eve's descriptive abilities are overflowing with choice moments, for example the passages about the Castles' dancing styles, or the fun they had dancing. I laughed out loud numerous times due to the author's wry commentary.""The book is extremely well-researched and includes an interview with Irene's son, a collection of Vernon's letters and Irene's personal scrapbooks. The glossy photos are rare gems. Whether you're a dance fan or a movie fan, this is required reading." -- Laura Wagner, Book Points-Classic Images" --\ ""Far superior in detail, documentation, objectivity, and balance to Irene Castle's Castles in the Air (1958) and her biography of Vernon (My Husband, 1919), published a year after he died in WW I, this volume tells the couple's complex story in 42 well-crafted chapters, establishing their place in dance and performance history while revealing the unpleasant qualities of both in private life.""A credible study not only of the Castles but also of the period. Including listings of stage and film appearances, notes, and exceptionally good and plentiful illustrations, this book should enjoy a wide readership." -- D.B. Wilmeth, CHOICE" --\ ""It's been awhile since Eve Golden has published a new book, but Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution is, of course, definitely worth the wait… An Eve Golden book is never dull, but lively, interesting, and downright succulent. I savor every word on the page, marveling at the keenness of thought and the unique grasp of an era none of us were alive to experience firsthand." --Classic Images" --\ \ \
