From acclaimed novelist Ben Neihart, a vibrant portrait of gay Harlem's most memorable diva: A'Lelia Walker. When A'Lelia Walker died in 1931 after a midnight snack of lobster and chocolate cake washed down with champagne, it marked the end of one of the most striking social careers in New York's history. The daughter of rags-to-riches multi-millionaire Madame C.J. Walker (the washerwoman who marketed the most successful straightening technique for African American hair), A'Lelia was America's first black poor little rich ...
Read More
From acclaimed novelist Ben Neihart, a vibrant portrait of gay Harlem's most memorable diva: A'Lelia Walker. When A'Lelia Walker died in 1931 after a midnight snack of lobster and chocolate cake washed down with champagne, it marked the end of one of the most striking social careers in New York's history. The daughter of rags-to-riches multi-millionaire Madame C.J. Walker (the washerwoman who marketed the most successful straightening technique for African American hair), A'Lelia was America's first black poor little rich girl, using her inheritance to throw elaborate, celebrity-packed parties in her Westchester Mansion and her 136th Street would-be salon, 'Dark Tower'. In Rough Amusements , third in Bloomsbury's Urban Historicals series, Neihart takes us into the heart of A'Lelia's world-gay Harlem in the 1920s. In tracing its cultural antecedents, he delves into the sexual subculture of nineteenth-century New York, exploring mixed-race prostitution; the bachelorization of New York society; French Balls (the most sophisticated forum for testing the boundaries of urban sexual behavior); and The Slide (New York's most depraved nineteenth-century bar). Using A'Lelia's lavish parties as a jumping-off point, Neihart traces the line connecting Davy Crockett's world without women to Walt Whitman's boundless love of beautiful men to A'Lelia's cultivation of the racial, social, and sexual risk that defined the Harlem Renaissance.
Read Less
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the True Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $2.57, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Some corner dings. The spine shows creasing or minor wear and tear. The dust jacket shows normal wear and tear. The pages show normal wear and tear. Codes or product keys that accompany this product may not be valid. Fast Shipping in a Standard Poly Mailer!
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $2.97, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $2.97, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $2.97, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $2.97, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the True Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $3.58, good condition, Sold by Blue Vase Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Interlochen, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the True Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $5.00, good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the True Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $8.00, very good condition, Sold by Chaparral Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 7x5x0; Crisp, clean hardcover with black illustrated boards and tissue type dust wrapper. First edition stated. The binding is tight, corners sharp. No markings to text. Small stamp along lower edge of text block.
Add this copy of Rough Amusements: the True Story of a'Lelia Walker, to cart. $10.00, very good condition, Sold by Kurtis A Phillips rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Roswell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Bloomsbury USA.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Book. 12mo-over 6¾-7¾" tall. Small black-boards hardback with an unclipped dust jacket now protected in a new archival-quality, removable Mylar plastic cover. This copy has an "opened-only-a-few-times" look & feel with no crushes to the boards' corners. Stored in sealed plastic protection and mailed (bubble-wrapped) in a sturdy Jiffy Rigi Bag envelope. We ship daily from Roswell, Ga. Serving satisfied customers since 1999.
