Published as a hardback in 2004 it's recently been reissued as a paperback and, now burlesque is in the headlines, has received a lot of media interest. Although it's written by an academic it's very readable and entertaining. One section concentrates on how much the girls earnt in the 1930s - a good act could earn $500 a week, and fees of $1,000 a week were not unheard of (the editor of Vanity Fair was earning $35 per week at the same time) - something for the burlesque girls of today to think about.

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Product Description

Striptease recreates the combustible mixture of license, independence, and sexual curiosity that allowed strippers to thrive for nearly a century. Rachel Shteir brings to life striptease's Golden Age, the years between the Jazz Age and the Sexual Revolution, when strippers performed around the country, in burlesque theatres, nightclubs, vaudeville houses, carnivals, fairs, and even in glorious palaces on the Great White Way. Taking us behind the scenes, Shteir introduces us to a diverse cast of characters that collided on the burlesque stage, from tight-laced political reformers and flamboyant impresarios, to drag queens, shimmy girls, cootch dancers, tit serenaders, and even girls next door, lured into the profession by big-city aspirations. Throughout the book, readers will find essential profiles of famed performers, including Gypsy Rose Lee, 'the Literary Stripper'; Lili St. Cyr, the 1950s mistress of exotic striptease; and Blaze Starr, the 'human heat wave'. who literally set the stage on fire. striptease is an insightful and entertaining portrait of an art form at once reviled and embraced by the American public. Blending careful research and vivid narration, Rachel Shteir captures striptease's combination of sham and seduction while illuminating its surprisingly persistent hold on the American imagination.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #288787 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

The Independent, 10 March 2006
gloriously seedy

Review
"Even though Shteir is a fully-fledged academic her writing style is elegant, vivid and mercifully free of jargon... There is a wealth of marvellous biographical detail here." (Christopher Hart, Sunday Times )

"gloriously seedy" (Marybeth Hamilton, The Independent )

'excellent story...that is lively, sympathetic and spangled with detail.' 'The cast of characters uncovered by Shteir is a full and entertaining one' 'Shteir has produced the definitive history' (Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Daily Telegraph )

About the Author
Rachel Shteir is Associate Professor and Head of the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism Program at the Theatre School of DePaul University.

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Customer Reviews

Your standard text on the subject
As the product info. above states, this is a valuable and important academic study of the development of striptease. The scope of the book is huge; Shteir looks first at the influences of european "undressing acts" and leg shows on American theatre culture then proceeds to chart the rise of stage nudity and tease through the Ziegfeld shows and Minsky`s Burlesque theatres,the spread of the form through nightclubs in the 30`s, 40`s and 50`s, its "Golden age" and its decline as a theatrical entertainment at the start of the 60`s. There is a wealth of social history, biographical information about performers and theatrical promoters, its supporters and its persecutors, along with details of theatre circuts, unions, Publicity and criminal involvement. Indeed Shteir touches on so many aspects one realises how much more there remains to be written on the subject.
The writing style is serious but entertaining and brings a contemporary feminist insight to bear on many of the topics discussed; the rise of drag acts and the early gay and lesbian scene in the clubs is also touched upon. The book is illustrated, but perhaps could have done with a few more pictures.
This is the most concise work on the subject I have been able to find; it is accessable an has, for me, become the best reference on all aspects of striptease and burlesque. A little more biography on some of the performers would have been nice; there is so little information available on major stars like Sally Rand and Ann Corio, and this book give just enough to get you interested...
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone with an interest, it is scholarly, entertaining, reasonably priced and most likely to be the standard reference for some time to come.