Filthy Sugar
eBook - ePub

Filthy Sugar

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Filthy Sugar

About this book

Set in the mid-1930s, Filthy Sugar tells the story of Wanda Whittle, a nineteen-year-old dreamer who models fur coats in an uptown department store, but who lives in a crowded rooming house with her hard-working widowed mother and shrewd older sister, Evelyn, in the "slums" behind the city's marketplace; a world where "death is always close but life is stubborn." Bored with the daily grind and still in shock from the sudden death of her father, Wanda finds both escapism and inspiration in the celluloid fantasies of the Busby Berkeley musicals, Greta Garbo dramas, and Jean Harlow sex comedies. Strutting up and down the aisles of Blondell's department store, her peep-toe high heels drumming out a steady beat on the waxed linoleum floors, Wanda fantasizes that she's Ruby Keeler, the tap dancing sweetheart from 42nd Street. But Wanda wants more than to wear a glamourous woman's coat—she wants to live inside of her flesh.

Her dreams come true after a chance encounter with the mysterious Mr. Manchester, proprietor of the Apple Bottom burlesque theatre. Suddenly Wanda is thrust into a world of glitter and grit. Descending from the rickety, splintered roof top of the Apple Bottom theatre on a red velvet swing, Wanda Whittle morphs into a dream named Wanda Wiggles; sweeter than a strawberry sundae and tastier than a deep dish apple pie. At the Apple Bottom she meets Lili Belle, a naughty cartoon flapper brought to life; Queenie, a sultry headliner whom Wanda feels drawn to like a bee to a butterfly bush; the sweet and salty Eddie, a drummer who thumps out his words like bullets from a machine gun and Brock Baxter, the Apple Bottom's vaudevillian comic whose apple cheeked, pretty boy exterior belies his sinister intentions.

All will have an impact on Wanda's journey. Cowardly boxers, shady coppers, dime store hoodlums, and painted ladies—Wanda will encounter them all! On her voyage from rags to riches and back again, Wanda experiences a sexual awakening and achieves personal independence as she discovers that a girl doesn't need a lot of sugar to be sensational!

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Yes, you can access Filthy Sugar by Heather Babcock in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literature General. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR FILTHY SUGAR
  3. Copyright
  4. Title Page
  5. CONTENTS
  6. Dedication
  7. Epigraph
  8. 1. MILK AND DIAMONDS
  9. 2. THE DAME IN THE FOX FUR COAT
  10. 3. A SWELL WIGGLE
  11. 4. DIAMONDS AND CRACKER JACK
  12. 5. BETTER THAN A KISS
  13. 6. BLESSINGS AND DOUGH
  14. 7. HIGHBALLIN’ HARD TIMES
  15. 8. THE STONE’S THROW
  16. 9. GOT TO ACT PRETTY
  17. 10. CHRISTMAS PRESENT
  18. 11. TAP DANCING ON A TIGHTROPE
  19. 12. CHEAP AND VULGAR
  20. 13. JOAN CRAWFORD EYES
  21. 14. BLOOD AND BREAD
  22. 15. BED BUG BABYLON
  23. 16. LITTLE PIGGIES
  24. 17. THE BOW TIE
  25. 18. BREATHLESS AND RECKLESS
  26. 19. A BUSINESS PROPOSAL
  27. 20. HEAVY SUGAR
  28. 21. PETER PICKUP
  29. 22. LOLLIPOPS AND TUMMY ACHES
  30. 23. LEAVING THE RACKET
  31. 24. HEADLIGHTS
  32. 25. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FEET
  33. 26. HOW DRY AM I?
  34. 27. BEAUTY AND THE BROCK
  35. 28. BETTER THAN THE MOVIES
  36. 29. DIAMONDS AND SLUG BURGERS
  37. 30. THIS IS MY GAME
  38. 31. BORN BLUE
  39. 32. SISTERS
  40. 33. HOLY CATS
  41. 34. CHILI AND CADS: THEY BOTH COME BACK
  42. 35. THE GREAT WANDA WIGGLES
  43. NOTES
  44. GLOSSARY
  45. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS