Reviews for American Theatre: Post-World War II to The 1990s, Vol. 3

The average rating for American Theatre: Post-World War II to The 1990s, Vol. 3 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-26 00:00:00 Karl Stokes Originally published in 1975 this slim and readable book is a good, albeit limited, introduction to the most popular American girls' series books of the first half of the 20th century. Various chapters focus on the Honey Bunch series, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, and Trixie Beldon. A few others including Cherry Ames, Vicki Barr, Beverly Grey are lumped together in one chapter. Even though the focus here is on mysteries, which are not my cup of tea, I am fond of this book because it was one of the first I read that showed me that books like these could be examined in a meaningful way, and because Mason (now much better known as a novelist) writes engagingly about how much the books meant to her as a child.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-17 00:00:00 Emmanuelle Oppeneau Bobbie Ann Mason's book on Girl Sleuths crystallized for me why I loved Trixie Belden and why Nancy Drew left me kind of cold. Any girl that grew up on these series books will find a lot to love and relate to in this volume. As well as very illuminating, it is, at times, laugh out loud funny. You will find yourself cringing and shaking your head in wonder at some of the excerpts from the unrevised versions of the stories from the 30's and 40's. If only I had been introduced to Judy Bolton instead of Nancy Drew! Where was she? Did my library even have her? Did I just overlook her? It's a mystery, but I am sad for my younger self for being deprived of her adventures when I really would have just gobbled them up and waited in suspense for the next one. Well, this book has made me think maybe it's not too late...I'm bidding on a lot offered on ebay today!