In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris arrives in New York City after being expelled from Vassar College. She moves into the Lily Playhouse, a crumbling midtown theater owned by her unconventional Aunt Peg. Vivian works as a seamstress for a troupe of showgirls and actors, discovering a world of late-night jazz clubs and casual intimacy. Her arrival coincides with the peak of the city’s wartime glamour, but a public scandal involving a British actor eventually forces her to confront the social consequences of her choices and the shifting morality of the era.
This book serves readers who enjoy detailed historical settings and stories about women who reject conventional domestic roles. It appeals to those interested in the technical work behind theatrical costume design and the specific landscape of Manhattan during the mid-twentieth century. Readers finish the narrative with a perspective on how female friendships and professional independence can define a life just as significantly as marriage or family. It provides a look at how personal mistakes integrate into a long-term identity over decades.
Insights from City of Girls
“At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time.”
Vivian loses her reputation before she even finds herself. It shows how much freedom you gain once you have nothing left to protect.
The Lily Playhouse feels like a blurry dream of feathers and cheap gin. It reminds me that some of our best years are spent in places that are falling apart.
Olive and Peg show that love doesn't always need a wedding or a traditional house. Sometimes it just looks like work and shared history.
“The world ain't only a library of events; it's a library of feelings.”
Vivian ruined Edna's life over a moment of boredom. It made me realize how easily we break people when we are young and careless.
- Published
- 2019
- Publisher
- Riverhead
- ISBN
- 9781594634734
- Language
- EN
