Florence Foster Jenkins

St. Martin's Griffin

Florence Foster Jenkins:  The Inspiring True Story of the World's Worst Singer
Nicholas Martin
Jasper Rees
2016

The Summary
"Despite having no pitch, no rhythm, and no tone, Florence Foster Jenkins became one of America's best-known sopranos and [even performed] at Carnegie Hall.  Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Florence Foster adored music and as a girl was a talented pianist, but her wealthy father refused to allow her to study in Europe.  In retaliation, she eloped with Dr. Frank Jenkins, but the marriage soon foundered, not least because the eighteen-year-old bride contacted syphilis on their wedding night.  Moving to New York, Florence became a piano teacher, but after her father's death in 1909, she inherited a considerable sum of money.  It was then that she vowed to become a great soprano and began taking singing lessons.  That same year she met the man who would become first her manager and, then, her common-law husband, St. Clair Bayfield.  Over forty years later, after a lifetime supporting New York's classical musical societies and even founding her own, Florence's greatest dream was finally realized.  At the age of seventy-six, she gave a recital, by public demand, at Carnegie Hall.  Her extraordinary story is now a film starring Meryl Streep as Florence and Hugh Grant as St. Clair Bayfield, directed by Stephen Frears."

The Good
Florence Foster Jenkins was quite an entertaining book.  I really liked the detail involved in her story, and I also liked how the authors pulled from several documents and resources to bring Florence's character to life.  She's an absurd character in history, a larger-than-life persona that fed on the adoration of her many fans, but both Rees and Martin manage to ground her firmly in reality and delve deep into her history.

She's quite a fascinating individual.  After eloping with a man twice her age, Florence became a concert pianist (she was quite the accomplished player), a music teacher, a social club manager, and, fulfilling a lifelong dream, a concert soprano at the age of 76.  She might not be a shining star in history, and she might not be remembered half so well as others; however, she made quite a splash in the early twentieth century.

Meeting Florence Foster Jenkins for the first time was an interesting experience, especially after listening to a recording of her music.  (If you intend to read this book, I would highly recommend sampling her work.  It gives a little more context as to why she was dubbed the "world's worst singer" and, more importantly, it gives you an idea of what she really sounded like.)  But it was a good experience, and I'm glad I read up on her.

Moreover, I appreciated the pictures that showed Florence's family--including her philandering husband, her raucous cousin on the Jenkins' side (who managed to escape murder charges on two separate occasions), and her beloved St. Clair Bayfield--as well as portraits of her youth.  It was nice to actually see her costumes, period pieces for the Verde Club that were both ostentatious and remarkable, like their wearer.

Overall, I had a great time reading Florence Foster Jenkins.

The Bad
Occasionally, the text did become a little dry.  I sometimes struggled to finish Florence Foster Jenkins for the simple reason that the chapters seemed to last forever and it seemed to rehash some familiar information unnecessarily.  It's a wonderfully detailed book, but it can border on tiresome, especially toward the end.

The Ugly
Syphilis.

You know, I didn't realize that syphilis could actually impair hearing.  I knew it could drive a person insane, but I didn't realize it could attack one's ears and actually induce deafness--or, in the case of Florence Foster Jenkins, alter hearing considerably.