Florence Foster Jenkins: The Life of the World's Worst Opera Singer - Softcover

Darryl W. Bullock

2.88

260 ratings by Goodreads

9780715651063: Florence Foster Jenkins: The Life of the World's Worst Opera Singer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0715651064 ISBN 13: 9780715651063

Publisher: Duckworth, 2016

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'Darryl Bullock's timely biography - delightfully cheering' Alexander McCall Smith, Guardian

Madame Jenkins couldn't carry a tune in a bucket: despite that, in 1944 at the age of 76, she played Carnegie Hall to a capacity audience and had celebrity fans by the score. Her infamous 1940s recordings are still highly-prized today. In his well-researched and thoroughly entertaining biography, Darryl W. Bullock tells of Florence Foster Jenkins meteoric rise to success and the man who stood beside her, through every sharp note.

Florence was ridiculed for her poor control of timing, pitch, and tone, and terrible pronunciation of foreign lyrics, but the sheer entertainment value of her caterwauling packed out theatres around the United States, with the 'singer' firmly convinced of her own talent, partly thanks to the devoted attention from her husband and manager St Clair Bayfield. Her story is one of triumph in the face of adversity, of courage, conviction and of the belief that with dedication and commitment a true artist can achieve anything.

With a major Hollywood movie about her life out now (starring Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg), the genius of Florence Foster Jenkins is about to be discovered by a whole new audience.

'The first full biography of Foster Jenkins' Clemency Burton-Hill' BBC

'Listening to her pathetic bleating is something like eavesdropping on a padded cell inmate' Billboard magazine

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About the Author:

Darryl W. Bullock is a publisher, editor, and writer specializing in numerous areas including music and the arts. He is the author of The World’s Worst Records and posts weekly on his popular blog, The World’s Worst Records. Bullock helped launch We Are Family, the UK’s first magazine for LGBT families and their friends. He is the author of the acclaimed biography Florence Foster Jenkins: A Life of the World's Worst Opera Singer.

Review:

“Darryl W. Bullock’s charming FLORENCE! FOSTER!! JENKINS!!! is just about right for those who want to know more about the world’s worst opera singer...thoroughly readable and entertaining. This appealing little biography―which arrives just as a film version of its heroine’s story, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, has been released in the US―is warmhearted and delightful. At its core is a touching love story, as well as a message about the human spirit.”
- Alexander McCall Smith, The New York Times Book Review

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