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Florence Foster Jenkins: Die wahre Geschichte der bekanntesten und zugleich untalentiertesten Sängerin aller Zeiten
Florence Foster Jenkins und die Kunst der schiefen Töne. Die wohlhabende und beispiellos talentfreie Diva – umwerfend gespielt von Meryl Streep – beginnt mit Mitte 40 begeistert Gesangsstunden zu nehmen, sie leistet sich einen eigenen Pianisten und finanziert schließlich öffentliche Bühnenauftritte unterstützt von ihrem Manager (Hugh Grant). Musik ist ihr Leben, doch eine gute Sängerin konnte allein die Leidenschaft nicht aus ihr machen. Sie trifft kaum einen Ton und wenn zufällig doch, kann sie ihn nicht halten, vom Rhythmus ganz zu schweigen. Die unvergleichliche Karriere der Frau, die mit legendär schrägen Darbietungen ihr Publikum förmlich zum Toben bringt, gipfelt in einem musikalischen Groß Als die mit 76 Jahren bereits betagte Florence in der bis zum letzten Platz ausverkauften New Yorker Carnegie Hall am 25. Oktober 1944 die Bühne betritt, gibt es im Saal kein Halten mehr. Eine genial komische Vorlage für Kultregisseur Stephen Frears.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
March 6, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. It is a very dry read. quite boring. I kept waiting and hoping it would get interesting but rarely did. This is a biography of the life of Florence Foster Jenkins. As most biographies, this one counts on research about the subject. There are even parts that really do not have proof just articles on the Ms. Foster Jenkins that could be true, alleged or maybe even false. I have to say if you want to learn anything about Florence Foster Jenkins watch the movie. It is much more entertaining.
August 3, 2016
I expect the upcoming movie starring Meryl Streep will be much more entertaining than this book. Far too much description of family trees and relatives, Pennsylvania and New York society. Lots of unnecessary miscellaneous information and filler. Florence Foster Jenkins was noted for her support of New York's classical music societies, but her fame is attributed to her horrible singing, no pitch, no rhythm, no tone and awful pronunciation of foreign lyrics. She sang on stage in flamboyant costumes under the delusion that the jeers from the audience were cheers. She believed her voice was superior to highly regarded professional opera singers of the day. Her last stage presentation was at Carnegie Hall when over 70 years of age. Many rich and famous attended this sold out concert. The book attempts to describe her bad singing but words are inadequate.
July 4, 2018
1.5★
I'm not sure whether it was the way the story was written, or the narrator (although I liked her accent), but I found this one very difficult to keep my mind on. Frequently something would be mentioned that would snap me back and wonder who/what was being talked about. So hard was it to keep track of, that I re-listened to about an hour this morning because I'd forgotten to note down where I finished on another device and couldn't remember the events being described - I only knew I'd listened to it because certain phrases were familiar!
I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it would be better than the book!
I'm not sure whether it was the way the story was written, or the narrator (although I liked her accent), but I found this one very difficult to keep my mind on. Frequently something would be mentioned that would snap me back and wonder who/what was being talked about. So hard was it to keep track of, that I re-listened to about an hour this morning because I'd forgotten to note down where I finished on another device and couldn't remember the events being described - I only knew I'd listened to it because certain phrases were familiar!
I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it would be better than the book!
October 28, 2020
2.1*
يعني كلما سمعت الاغنيه تبكي
جمال الغناء في الفيلم جاء بدون ترجمه
الكتاب فيه سر كبير
تحس انك قاعد في مسرح في دائره ضوء وفجاه تنتقل دائره الضوء لشخص اخر ولكن مازالت الكاميرا عيناك
والشخص التاني مالوش علاقه بالاغنيه في اول لقطه
من الاخر هشوف الفيلم تاني لاني بصراحه ده اللي فهمته
يعني كلما سمعت الاغنيه تبكي
جمال الغناء في الفيلم جاء بدون ترجمه
الكتاب فيه سر كبير
تحس انك قاعد في مسرح في دائره ضوء وفجاه تنتقل دائره الضوء لشخص اخر ولكن مازالت الكاميرا عيناك
والشخص التاني مالوش علاقه بالاغنيه في اول لقطه
من الاخر هشوف الفيلم تاني لاني بصراحه ده اللي فهمته
August 24, 2016
2.5 stars.
This book was very dry. There were chapters dedicated to Florence being in such and such a club, and making musical programs with such and such a song sung by such and such a person. It doesn't help that I am not a music buff and am not familiar with all the names dropped.
However Florence herself was a very interesting lady. There were golden little tidbits in this book that I found very humorous and fascinating.
This book was very dry. There were chapters dedicated to Florence being in such and such a club, and making musical programs with such and such a song sung by such and such a person. It doesn't help that I am not a music buff and am not familiar with all the names dropped.
However Florence herself was a very interesting lady. There were golden little tidbits in this book that I found very humorous and fascinating.
December 13, 2019
I had given up on this book and was returning it to the library when I started reading it again because there was nothing else in the car to read. There are many parts I skimmed over because they are lists of songs sung, but the story itself is interesting. Biggest lesson - write a will and put it in an obvious place.
August 28, 2018
I rarely see feature films, but I did see "Florence Foster Jenkins" where Meryl Streep played the title role. I have known about this notorious singer since childhood, as she was always listed in the Guinness Book of World Records (which I read annually since I was about nine) under the category Singers. Her "world record" entailed:
"While no agreement exists as to the identity of history's greatest singer, there is unanimity on the worst."
That's, surprisingly, quite a subjective statement from a source known for its objective argument-settling reputation. At least the book was worth reading under the McWhirters' editorship. So when the new biography Florence Foster Jenkins: The Inspiring True Story of the World's Worst Singer by Nicholas Martin and Jasper Rees came out, in tandem with the movie, I had to read it. First of all, in spite of the cover art, this is not a book adaptation of the movie. It merely capitalizes on it. While the movie concentrates only on Jenkins in her later years as a singer, Martin and Rees have told Jenkins's story starting from before her birth. The authors have done their research into Jenkins's family and birthplace history and provided valuable insight into the development of the woman known, and loathed, for her singing. They do not race through her childhood and time as a young woman. In fact, if the reader only wanted to read about her concert performances as a singer, he'd have to wait until the second half of the book.
While the juiciest parts of this biography relate to audience reactions and newspaper reviews of her concerts, I found her early life--she was married at fourteen--to be equally captivating. Her marriage to a doctor (a disaster doomed from the start if she was a bride at fourteen) and her troubles with her father's will instilled in her a distrust of all authority figures, and not only doctors and lawyers.
Jenkins moved to New York City after she separated from her husband and ascended the vibrant social scene, climbing the ladder of high society at tea parties, afternoon dances and music clubs. Jenkins formed her own such club, the Verdi Club, of which she was the president, and sponsored and hosted many musicians and singers over the years. She was a skilful pianist in her own right, and performed at various clubs herself. Jenkins soon became a grande dame of the wealthy social set, and was well respected for her charitable work and for organizing concerts and benefits at her own club.
An arm injury prevented her from playing the piano at her club's own concerts, and that could be the reason she took to singing later in life. The authors made a solid case for the late blooming of Florence Foster Jenkins:
"While it is conceivable that Florence's stories of thwarted musical ambition were exaggerated, there are enough different sources which talk of her parents banning her from singing to confirm that, in later life, Florence at least believed she had been held back."
Her repressive parents and husband hindered her creativity and Jenkins could never break out on her own until they had all died. This psychological straitjacket now removed, she could do whatever she wanted and had the money, her own music club as well as subservient friends to help her along. As long as the Verdi Club's members were partaking of their president's extravagant concerts and parties, the least they could do was indulge her if she decided to take to her own stage:
"Thus the cycle began: in return for her vast social and cultural largesse, Florence received uncritical approbation for her singing."
None of her close friends dared laugh or tell her how awful a singer she was. To do so might have meant instant banishment from her club and being blacklisted from the New York social scene. So people sat through her concerts by grinning and bearing it:
"It was very difficult for anyone to tell her the unvarnished truth: not Verdi Club membership, not the many opera singers launched upon New York thanks to Florence's patronage, not charities who profited from her fundraising, not journalists (real critics being uninvited), certainly not St. Clair [Bayfield, her common-law husband]. In whatever spirit they were offered, Florence chose to believe every compliment and accept every invitation."
Her disdain for authority figures carried over towards journalists. She dismissed any critical reviews of her singing and recordings as being from uneducated uncultured heathens. No one knew opera as well as she did and her critics were not in any position to judge her.
Sadly, her distrust of lawyers had a devastating impact on her common-law husband St. Clair Bayfield. Since Jenkins died intestate (the authors however claimed that she did in fact have a will) Bayfield could not inherit. Jenkins died in 1944 and common-law spouses who did not even share the same residence had no legal standing. Therefore Jenkins's estate went to her next of kin blood relatives: all twenty of her second cousins. Bayfield managed to prove in court a common-law relationship and was awarded only a fraction of her estate.
Her accompanist, Cosme McMoon, was known to laugh while playing for her and hamming it up for the audience. His testimonials about working for Jenkins are known to be exaggerated, however the few (soundless, thankfully) movie clips that exist of Jenkins in concert prove his point:
"'She added histrionics to every number.' recalled Cosme McMoon, 'generally acting the action, if it were an aria, or other appropriate action if it were a descriptive song, or else she would go into different dances during these numbers, which were extremely hilarious.'"
According to McMoon:
"the audience nearly always tried not to hurt her feelings by outright laughing, so they developed a convention that whenever she came to a particularly excruciating discord or something like that, where they had to laugh, they burst into these salvos of applause and whistles and the noise was so great that they could laugh at liberty."
Jenkins would often break out of song and acknowledge the applause, bow and catch a few breaths, and then resume singing. Jenkins recorded nine songs on 78 rpm and all of them are available on CD. I own one such CD and can attest to her need for frequent inhalations. She could not see her own need to draw breath mid-song, yet the listeners could:
"And if others could not be relied upon to sing her praises, Florence sang them herself. In one Verdi Club programme she wrote, '[Luisa] Tetrazzini took three breaths to sing this phrase, I do it in one.' A woman at a recital begged to differ: 'She did it in twenty-four.'"
The line that bowled me over and continues to do so upon subsequent rereadings is the reaction of audience members who did not have to act so sycophantic:
"Verdi Club concerts were free to the members but tickets could be bought by the public, which meant that audiences soon started to swell with non-loyalists who had never been to a Silver Skylark ball or a Rose Breakfast. Word spread in the early 1930s about the unique phenomenon of the singing president. In 1934 the audience contained a rogue element who paid $2 for a guest ticket, made their way to the back of the auditorium and laughed their heads off."
Jenkins's common-law husband sums up his wife's talent quite succinctly:
"The recitals acquired a cult popularity. In St. Clair's estimation this was down to what he called her 'star quality'...'There is something about her personality that makes everyone look at her with relish. That is what my wife had.'"
"While no agreement exists as to the identity of history's greatest singer, there is unanimity on the worst."
That's, surprisingly, quite a subjective statement from a source known for its objective argument-settling reputation. At least the book was worth reading under the McWhirters' editorship. So when the new biography Florence Foster Jenkins: The Inspiring True Story of the World's Worst Singer by Nicholas Martin and Jasper Rees came out, in tandem with the movie, I had to read it. First of all, in spite of the cover art, this is not a book adaptation of the movie. It merely capitalizes on it. While the movie concentrates only on Jenkins in her later years as a singer, Martin and Rees have told Jenkins's story starting from before her birth. The authors have done their research into Jenkins's family and birthplace history and provided valuable insight into the development of the woman known, and loathed, for her singing. They do not race through her childhood and time as a young woman. In fact, if the reader only wanted to read about her concert performances as a singer, he'd have to wait until the second half of the book.
While the juiciest parts of this biography relate to audience reactions and newspaper reviews of her concerts, I found her early life--she was married at fourteen--to be equally captivating. Her marriage to a doctor (a disaster doomed from the start if she was a bride at fourteen) and her troubles with her father's will instilled in her a distrust of all authority figures, and not only doctors and lawyers.
Jenkins moved to New York City after she separated from her husband and ascended the vibrant social scene, climbing the ladder of high society at tea parties, afternoon dances and music clubs. Jenkins formed her own such club, the Verdi Club, of which she was the president, and sponsored and hosted many musicians and singers over the years. She was a skilful pianist in her own right, and performed at various clubs herself. Jenkins soon became a grande dame of the wealthy social set, and was well respected for her charitable work and for organizing concerts and benefits at her own club.
An arm injury prevented her from playing the piano at her club's own concerts, and that could be the reason she took to singing later in life. The authors made a solid case for the late blooming of Florence Foster Jenkins:
"While it is conceivable that Florence's stories of thwarted musical ambition were exaggerated, there are enough different sources which talk of her parents banning her from singing to confirm that, in later life, Florence at least believed she had been held back."
Her repressive parents and husband hindered her creativity and Jenkins could never break out on her own until they had all died. This psychological straitjacket now removed, she could do whatever she wanted and had the money, her own music club as well as subservient friends to help her along. As long as the Verdi Club's members were partaking of their president's extravagant concerts and parties, the least they could do was indulge her if she decided to take to her own stage:
"Thus the cycle began: in return for her vast social and cultural largesse, Florence received uncritical approbation for her singing."
None of her close friends dared laugh or tell her how awful a singer she was. To do so might have meant instant banishment from her club and being blacklisted from the New York social scene. So people sat through her concerts by grinning and bearing it:
"It was very difficult for anyone to tell her the unvarnished truth: not Verdi Club membership, not the many opera singers launched upon New York thanks to Florence's patronage, not charities who profited from her fundraising, not journalists (real critics being uninvited), certainly not St. Clair [Bayfield, her common-law husband]. In whatever spirit they were offered, Florence chose to believe every compliment and accept every invitation."
Her disdain for authority figures carried over towards journalists. She dismissed any critical reviews of her singing and recordings as being from uneducated uncultured heathens. No one knew opera as well as she did and her critics were not in any position to judge her.
Sadly, her distrust of lawyers had a devastating impact on her common-law husband St. Clair Bayfield. Since Jenkins died intestate (the authors however claimed that she did in fact have a will) Bayfield could not inherit. Jenkins died in 1944 and common-law spouses who did not even share the same residence had no legal standing. Therefore Jenkins's estate went to her next of kin blood relatives: all twenty of her second cousins. Bayfield managed to prove in court a common-law relationship and was awarded only a fraction of her estate.
Her accompanist, Cosme McMoon, was known to laugh while playing for her and hamming it up for the audience. His testimonials about working for Jenkins are known to be exaggerated, however the few (soundless, thankfully) movie clips that exist of Jenkins in concert prove his point:
"'She added histrionics to every number.' recalled Cosme McMoon, 'generally acting the action, if it were an aria, or other appropriate action if it were a descriptive song, or else she would go into different dances during these numbers, which were extremely hilarious.'"
According to McMoon:
"the audience nearly always tried not to hurt her feelings by outright laughing, so they developed a convention that whenever she came to a particularly excruciating discord or something like that, where they had to laugh, they burst into these salvos of applause and whistles and the noise was so great that they could laugh at liberty."
Jenkins would often break out of song and acknowledge the applause, bow and catch a few breaths, and then resume singing. Jenkins recorded nine songs on 78 rpm and all of them are available on CD. I own one such CD and can attest to her need for frequent inhalations. She could not see her own need to draw breath mid-song, yet the listeners could:
"And if others could not be relied upon to sing her praises, Florence sang them herself. In one Verdi Club programme she wrote, '[Luisa] Tetrazzini took three breaths to sing this phrase, I do it in one.' A woman at a recital begged to differ: 'She did it in twenty-four.'"
The line that bowled me over and continues to do so upon subsequent rereadings is the reaction of audience members who did not have to act so sycophantic:
"Verdi Club concerts were free to the members but tickets could be bought by the public, which meant that audiences soon started to swell with non-loyalists who had never been to a Silver Skylark ball or a Rose Breakfast. Word spread in the early 1930s about the unique phenomenon of the singing president. In 1934 the audience contained a rogue element who paid $2 for a guest ticket, made their way to the back of the auditorium and laughed their heads off."
Jenkins's common-law husband sums up his wife's talent quite succinctly:
"The recitals acquired a cult popularity. In St. Clair's estimation this was down to what he called her 'star quality'...'There is something about her personality that makes everyone look at her with relish. That is what my wife had.'"
March 1, 2025
A decent look at the life of the world's worst singer, Florence Foster Jenkins. Madame Jenkins has risen to new fame with the film starring Meryl Streep. This book tells us the real story. Florence was born to wealth and privilege, but always wanted to become a singer. It's fascinating to read about how she never really noticed how bad her own voice was. In fact, when she compared it alongside other recordings, she thought hers was superior! About five of Florence's letters survive. So, these letters and her recordings are all we have of Florence's own voice. The author does a good job piecing together her life.
Interesting reading.
Interesting reading.
February 6, 2023
Such a comfort story of mine.
February 18, 2017
This is the rare book that was worse than the movie.
The author uses a lot if filler, especially for Florence's childhood. This lady had a fascinating life; this book makes it seem boring and dry. Skip this book and see the movie!
The author uses a lot if filler, especially for Florence's childhood. This lady had a fascinating life; this book makes it seem boring and dry. Skip this book and see the movie!
November 4, 2016
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
And, to be fair, I hadn't received it, but through the work of Goodreads and St. Martin's Press, eventually I received it.
Florence Foster Jenkins was known as the worst opera singer who ever lived. This book covers her upbringing in working class Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, her musical education, her marriages, and her philanthropic work in New York City. Because of her philanthropic work, people were loathe to tell her how lousy of a singer she was. This only boosted her ego, and the book culminates in her performance at world renowned Carnegie Hall.
When I first saw the advertisements for the recent film starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, I thought it would be in similar spirit to "Ed Wood" of the book "The Disaster Artist", stories of two Hollywood directors whose ambition outweighed their talent. This book isn't as similar as I expected.
Florence studied music at a music school, and she graduated second in her class. She was actually an accomplished pianist. And she supported struggling musicians. She gave them opportunities to perform for the elite crowd in New York City.
I appreciate the thoroughness of the research the authors performed. I liked learning about Wilkes-Barre, PA (I don't live too far from there), and how the rich folk lived in New York during the early part of the 20th century.
Unfortunately, this research is also a double edged sword. Some of the minutiae became tedious, especially when the focus was on Florence's second husband's acting career. His character just isn't as compelling as Florence's.
Overall, it was a good, but not great read.
And, to be fair, I hadn't received it, but through the work of Goodreads and St. Martin's Press, eventually I received it.
Florence Foster Jenkins was known as the worst opera singer who ever lived. This book covers her upbringing in working class Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, her musical education, her marriages, and her philanthropic work in New York City. Because of her philanthropic work, people were loathe to tell her how lousy of a singer she was. This only boosted her ego, and the book culminates in her performance at world renowned Carnegie Hall.
When I first saw the advertisements for the recent film starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, I thought it would be in similar spirit to "Ed Wood" of the book "The Disaster Artist", stories of two Hollywood directors whose ambition outweighed their talent. This book isn't as similar as I expected.
Florence studied music at a music school, and she graduated second in her class. She was actually an accomplished pianist. And she supported struggling musicians. She gave them opportunities to perform for the elite crowd in New York City.
I appreciate the thoroughness of the research the authors performed. I liked learning about Wilkes-Barre, PA (I don't live too far from there), and how the rich folk lived in New York during the early part of the 20th century.
Unfortunately, this research is also a double edged sword. Some of the minutiae became tedious, especially when the focus was on Florence's second husband's acting career. His character just isn't as compelling as Florence's.
Overall, it was a good, but not great read.
September 14, 2016
So I really wanted to like this book. I mean after all, it's read by the incomparable Katherine Kellgren! But...I really just couldn't! I kept listening to the end, hoping it would get better, and by the time I realized it wouldn't I was too far along to let myself drop out. The biggest problems: 1) Florence's life was really quite...boring. There wasn't anything really spectacular about it. She was just a semi-wealthy socialite of the early 1900s, but nothing truly extraordinary. 2) Florence isn't exactly likeable! She twists the truth of her life, she's distrustful of others, she's not always nice to those around her, and either she's completely vain and self-centered...or she's a complete imbecile blinded to reality. The whole "did she or did she not know she couldn't sing" thing also irritated me. It's hard to tell from the narrative at what point she went from being able to sing (because it sounds like at least at some point she could??) to no longer being able to carry a tune. And the fact that no one in her inner circle would have cared to tell her she was making a fool of herself along the way? What does that say for the people she surrounded herself with?? It seems preposterous that even with her money, not one person along the way would tell her the truth. And if they really didn't, her story is all the more pathetic.
Sadly, even the amazing Katherine Kellgren couldn't save this one for me.
Sadly, even the amazing Katherine Kellgren couldn't save this one for me.
November 19, 2016
Fun to find out more about this quirky, fascinating woman. I knew about her some years ago (my friend Kirsten's mom knew about her). The movie (also charming) only deals with the last two chapters in the book, so there is a lot of detail about New York Society in the first four decades of this century. Who knew, for example, that Florence Foster Jenkins is from my dad's home town (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)? Nice to see all the pictures, but of course, it would have been better if it came with a recording. And the best quote of the movie is real - "People may say I can't sing, but they can't say I didn't sing!"
Read
March 4, 20222 stars and kudos for what surely amounted to hours of research necessary to bring us Florence. As to the writing, the narration style lacks a storyteller’s finesse and gravity. I would have loved to explore the “deep undercurrents of Madame Jenkins’s unconscious” (pg 235) as noted in the Acknowledgments and Bibliography section, but my imagination was left to do a lot of work to obtain a satisfying read.
February 15, 2020
This is a straightforward easy biography that provides a timeline sourced from multiple kinds of records. No great bells and whistles and no eye-opening commentary or additional perspectives.
Some might consider it actually quite a boring listen, but it did its job in helping me pass some time!
But it's certainly prompted me to rent the DVD :-)
Some might consider it actually quite a boring listen, but it did its job in helping me pass some time!
But it's certainly prompted me to rent the DVD :-)
June 10, 2019
If ever there was a book to put me off reading this would be it. Utterly boring, filled with way too much unnecessary information and lacks any interesting qualities. This is by far the worst book I have ever read.
November 23, 2021
I got maybe 25 pages in. My husband got further. We both got bored and put it down. I’m literally reading a German grammar book instead.
December 31, 2024
Gentle, non-violent read for the holidays. Many other readers thought the book dry, but all were comparing her to today's standard, not the Victorian and Edwardian she was.
For her day, she had guts. Eloped as a teenager, estranged from her husband almost their entire marriage, possibly was given syphilis while married with mercury treatments that left her bald by 25, posed as a wealthy NY socialite, and married common law with someone, quite possibly before divorcing her first husband, if she even did divorce him. All this, before her singing career, which didn't start on a large scale until she was nearly 40.
The reason why so many still remember her even with a comparatively bland life from ours is the genuine joy she had with music and the lack of care (obliviousness, to be more accurate) of people's opinions of her music. It was reported by many that she never spoke ill or did ill by anyone.
She struck me as an honest, more loveable version of Hyacinth from the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances. Had some airs, liked to rub shoulders with the wealthy, but saw herself as a matron. A caretaker of other young ladies, and musicians by extension, for their well-being. But actually meant well and did well.
Unusual, even now, to meet a public figure that actually was gentle hearted and caring, even if full of herself.
Nice, light-hearted, short read.
For her day, she had guts. Eloped as a teenager, estranged from her husband almost their entire marriage, possibly was given syphilis while married with mercury treatments that left her bald by 25, posed as a wealthy NY socialite, and married common law with someone, quite possibly before divorcing her first husband, if she even did divorce him. All this, before her singing career, which didn't start on a large scale until she was nearly 40.
The reason why so many still remember her even with a comparatively bland life from ours is the genuine joy she had with music and the lack of care (obliviousness, to be more accurate) of people's opinions of her music. It was reported by many that she never spoke ill or did ill by anyone.
She struck me as an honest, more loveable version of Hyacinth from the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances. Had some airs, liked to rub shoulders with the wealthy, but saw herself as a matron. A caretaker of other young ladies, and musicians by extension, for their well-being. But actually meant well and did well.
Unusual, even now, to meet a public figure that actually was gentle hearted and caring, even if full of herself.
Nice, light-hearted, short read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2017
I wanted to read this before seeing the movie starring Meryl Streep. The book is well-researched, if a bit dry, and not so much inspiring as cautionary. Don't believe all those compliments you get, Florence! The best part of the story was way at the end, describing her Carnegie Hall concert. By then, at the ripe old age of seventy-six, any voice she may have originally had was shot; her singing, indeed the entire appearance, was basically a joke. Sad. Her relationship with St. Clair Bayfield (played by Hugh Grant) was another interesting aspect of her life as a New York socialite, revolving around club membership and musical presentations. It hearkens back to a time when the Social Register was the Bible which determined one's position in hidebound Manhattan. Glad those "good old days" are gone!
June 8, 2023
A biography of sorts of the socialite and infamous singer Florence Foster Jenkins.
The story was interesting, but the writing and grammar was subpar. The authors seemed hellbent on cramming as many words into every sentence and every paragraph as they could. Sub sectioning the chapters might have helped the flow of the book, but often the narrative would jump to other people with no context and who'd only been mentioned once before.
The authors start the book saying very little is known as fact about her life then go forward to assert almost everything in the book as a statement of truth, some explanation of how they decided when/where she was born, etc would have been prudent.
More photos of her and the surroundings of her life would have been nice too.
The story was interesting, but the writing and grammar was subpar. The authors seemed hellbent on cramming as many words into every sentence and every paragraph as they could. Sub sectioning the chapters might have helped the flow of the book, but often the narrative would jump to other people with no context and who'd only been mentioned once before.
The authors start the book saying very little is known as fact about her life then go forward to assert almost everything in the book as a statement of truth, some explanation of how they decided when/where she was born, etc would have been prudent.
More photos of her and the surroundings of her life would have been nice too.
June 6, 2019
Years before William Hung and American Idol there was Florence Foster Jenkins and Carnegie Hall. I can't decide if Madame Jenkins' life and musical ambitions should be pitied because she was innocently misguided or should provoke disapproval because she was stubbornly conceited, made all the more sadder because the delusions of grandeur was fueled by her enabling partner, Bayfield, and their circle of friends. Regardless of her reasoning, she made no financial gains through the venture, instead donating the entirety of the proceeds to charity, and that doesn't strike me as a person whose necessarily a bad egg. With that said, then her life was definitely bitter-sweet.
July 16, 2018
I tried so hard to like this book, but I just couldn't (I couldn't even finish it!). It was very dry and did nothing to draw me in or grip me.
The introduction explained that there isn't much historical record of her early life, so I was expecting the first part to be fairly sparse and then to become more detailed and interesting as she became more prominent. So I kept reading and kept expecting, and then I was three quarters of the way through and still nothing, and I gave up. Maybe I'll try the film instead.
The introduction explained that there isn't much historical record of her early life, so I was expecting the first part to be fairly sparse and then to become more detailed and interesting as she became more prominent. So I kept reading and kept expecting, and then I was three quarters of the way through and still nothing, and I gave up. Maybe I'll try the film instead.
August 18, 2018
Not my normal read, this was an interesting biography on the woman who thought she could sing. Clearly, she was entertainment for those who attended her concerts, but as most people know, she couldn't hold a tune. Florence had an interesting life, though, and reading about it gives an insight into the sort of person she was, and how much she enjoyed performing.
I didn't read the screenplay part of the book as I haven't seen the movie, so I'm keeping that for afterwards, should I ever get to see the film.
I didn't read the screenplay part of the book as I haven't seen the movie, so I'm keeping that for afterwards, should I ever get to see the film.
August 22, 2022
It was quite interesting to read of the lives of society ladies in the early 20th century, with their numerous clubs and charity fundraising extravaganzas. Florence was an interesting character to say the least. Perhaps Google her recordings as they are quite remarkable. Her ear splitting caterwauling and totally off key singing coupled with her total belief in her own talent - it’s comedy gold.
November 9, 2016
Too much about concerts, not enough personal stuff
It started well and is well written. It kept my interest most of the time. I would have preferred more information about their life together. The lists of performers and society members of the time was a bit overwhelming. I did like the sense of history and the culture of the day.
It started well and is well written. It kept my interest most of the time. I would have preferred more information about their life together. The lists of performers and society members of the time was a bit overwhelming. I did like the sense of history and the culture of the day.
June 29, 2022
Bittersweet story of a woman who loved music, gave up her personal dreams of being a pianist, and supported operas and other musical events in New York. Despite having a mediocre ( at best ) voice she performed concerts, even at Carnegie Hall. She had a loyal following despite her lack of expertise.
There is also a fun film starring Meryl Streep. Kristi & Abby Tabby
There is also a fun film starring Meryl Streep. Kristi & Abby Tabby
August 23, 2022
I had read this book because I had seen the movie. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned more about Florence Foster Jenkins' childhood, her family, her two marriages, and her career as an opera singer. I loved it was informative and engaging. I thought the book was well written. It is a must read.
June 23, 2025
Wow, this was as boring as Florence’s singing was bad. At times it put me to sleep as it was a hard slog. It only improved near the end. Rather than tell a story of this infamous singer, it was more like a detailed list of the songs she sang , the clubs she patronized. Just like her singing it dragged on.
August 2, 2017
I read this as part of my 2017 reading challenge "a book with a name in the title." I wanted to like this book. It started well and then became rather boring before picking up at the end. FFJ was a fascinating character, but take my advice: see the movie instead.
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