Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I admit it, the enchanting cover photo of Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) compelled me to buy this book..but I was also intrigued by the sales-pitch blurb on the back cover. Inside, I was pleasantly surprised, with many of my favourite southern gals featured, including Selena, Anne Rice, Margaret Mitchell, Carson McCullers. Hell's Belles is written in exuberant tabloid style (witness the title!)and contains interesting anecdotes and fascinating accounts of Southerners, most of whom I've never heard of but leave me wanting to know more..luckily, Ballenger provides a list of references. The only thing that left me feeling a bit miffed is some blatant Women's press advertisment at the back - as if we need reminding of 'role models' and 'empowerment'and other genderist stuff to feel good about ourselves! Subtle it is not. And one question - drag queens are belles, yes? but Truman Capote?
Click Here to see more reviews about: Hell's Belles: A Tribute to the Spitfires, Bad Seeds & Steel Magnolias of the New and Old South
Bad seeds, belles-lettres, rule breakers, shreiking violets, bar belles- how could any collections of impudent sketches that celebrates and lampoons the American Southern bell go wrong? Most of the women on these pages are instantly recognizable. Among those whose exploits or imagination vaulted them to fame are writers Carson McCullers and Anne Rice; emancipator Harriet Tubman; actress and one-time town owner Kim Basinger; ex-black Panther Angela Davis; 30's outlaw Bonnie Parker; and mascara maven Tammy Faye Baker. A few little-knowns and relative newcomers have elbowed their way on stage, too.From Mama to Mammy, from Scarlett to Blanche, HELL'S BELLES (often exclaimed in mock piety and defining generations of Southern women) is hilarious and loving tribute to the famous and infamous females of ol' Dixie. This diverse collections features more than 200 women-aristocratic to poverty stricken, well-bred to ill-mannered, from Virginia to Texas (the heart of the Confederacy)- who have one thing in common: a uniquely Southern take on life and a strength and a strength of character molded by their roots.
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