{"product_id":"mama-roses-turn-carolyn-quinn-9781617038532","title":"Mama Rose's Turn: The True Story of America's Most Notorious Stage Mother","description":"Hers is the show business saga you think you already know--but you ain't seen nothin' yet. Rose Thompson Hovick, mother of June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee, went down in theatrical history as \"The Stage Mother from Hell\" after her immortalization on Broadway in \u003ci\u003eGypsy: A Musical Fable\u003c\/i\u003e. Yet the musical was seventy-five percent fictionalized by playwright Arthur Laurents and condensed for the stage. Rose's full story is even more striking. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Born fearless on the North Dakota prairie in 1891, Rose Thompson had a kind father and a gallivanting mother who sold lacy finery to prostitutes. She became an unhappy teenage bride whose marriage yielded two entrancing daughters, Louise and June. When June was discovered to be a child prodigy in ballet, capable of dancing en pointe by the age of three, Rose, without benefit of any theatrical training, set out to create onstage opportunities for her magical baby girl--and succeeded. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Rose followed her own star and created two more in dramatic and colorful style: \"Baby June\" became a child headliner in vaudeville, and Louise grew up to be the well-known burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. The rest of Mama Rose's remarkable story included love affairs with both men and women, the operation of a \"lesbian pick-up joint\" where she sold homemade bathtub gin, wild attempts to extort money from Gypsy and June, two stints as a chicken farmer, and three allegations of cold-blooded murder--all of which was deemed unfit for the script of \u003ci\u003eGypsy\u003c\/i\u003e. Here, at last, is the rollicking, wild saga that never made it to the stage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Carolyn Quinn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1617038539\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617038532\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/11\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.49lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.32w x 1.29d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2014 pg. 78","brand":"Carolyn Quinn","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065755971839,"sku":"9781617038532","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_90fd46fb-7bf7-48fe-a465-1495289c429e.jpg?v=1768677061","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mama-roses-turn-carolyn-quinn-9781617038532","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}