The Final Confession of Mabel Stark: A Novel

from dbolahood

Blurb from Amazon In the 1910s and '20s, during the golden age of the big top, Mabel Stark was the superstar of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, and one of America's most eccentric celebrities. A tiny, curvaceous Kentucky blonde in a white leather bodysuit, Mabel was brazen, sexual...

from christinedux

Based on a historical figure, Mabel Stark was a nurse turned stripper turned tiger trainer who performed in a series of death-defying cat acts during her heyday in the 1920s.

from VikkiLaw

This book should have a trigger warning for the first few chapters, which describe a torturous practice called "hydrotherapy" used on wives who had been committed to mental hospitals by husbands displeased by their lack of willingness to have sex with them. Once Stark is free of the hospital, t...

from Whisper1

I finished this book last week and because it haunted me I wanted to allow time to put thoughts and feelings into words. The story of Mabel Stark is an incredible one. Losing her parents at an early age meant Mabel had to fend for herself. After a brief time of nursing, Mabel gravitated to the ci...

from Fluffyblue

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, tragic and I can't wait for a film to be made about it. Mabel Stark is one interesting lady!