If you’re a silent movie buff, you’ve probably heard of (well, seen) Louise Brooks and her iconic black bob. But did you know she started off as a dancer at one of the most prestigious schools of dance in America? The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty follows this wild Kansas girl’s first trip into the Big Apple to follow her dreams of becoming a dancer. Actually, it is told from her chaperone Cora Carlisle’s point of view, and she has some of her own reasons to be searching NYC, and outside of her comfort zone, all the while trying to keep Louise under control.
Glittering, often gilded, visions of the Roaring Twenties sparkle in the readers mind with this historical fiction. In 2018, it was adapted into a movie by PBS Masterpiece. If you listen to the audiobook like I did, narrator Elizabeth McGovern brings Moriarty’s beloved characters to life most captivatingly. In fact, Moriarty honors Louise Brooks so well in her novel that the Louise Brooks Society calls it “The best known contemporary tribute.”