Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution

by Eve Golden

Vernon and Irene Castle popularized ragtime dancing in the years just before World War I and made dancing a respectable pastime in America. The whisper-thin, elegant Castles were trendsetters in many they traveled with a black orchestra, had an openly lesbian manager, and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue. Irene was also a fashion innovator, bobbing her hair ten years before the flapper look of the 1920s became popular. From their marriage in 1911 until 1916, the Castles were the most famous and influential dance team in the world. Their dancing schools and nightclubs were packed with society figures and white-collar workers alike. After their peak of white-hot fame, Vernon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps, served at the front lines, and was killed in a 1918 airplane crash. Irene became a movie star and appeared in more than a dozen films between 1917 and 1922. The Castles were depicted in the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution (1939), but the film omitted most of the interesting and controversial aspects of their lives. They were more complex than posterity would have Vernon was charming but irresponsible, Irene was strong-minded but self-centered, and the couple had filed for divorce before Vernon's death (information that has never before been made public). Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution is the fascinating story of a couple who reinvented dance and its place in twentieth-century culture.

Genres: Music

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Eve Golden is a biographer whose work focuses on American silent film, theater and early twentieth century actresses.

Reviews

[Julia Hendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of early celebrities who danced their way to prominence. The author has an excellent command of the time and place, presenting the results of her research with a light and witty touch. My only complaint is the lack of illustrations. I would expect at least two sections of photos or other images in a biography like this. Especially frustrating given the Castles' fame as dancers and Irene Castle's frequent appearances in magazines of the day.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wish I could write two lines strung together as entertainingly as Eve Golden does in her most recent work. Impeccably researched and so well written, I was sorry when it came to an end.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched, but I started to lose interest about 3/4 of the way through when Vernon died, and it became all about the diva days and multiple marriages of Irene.

[Tambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, I read this in a few hours on the same day. So interesting about their life career. Great Biography that I have read in awhile. Cant wait to find more books about them.