When Nils Hanson's mother died, one of the things that had to be gone through was an old trunk in the attic. In this trunk he found photos, letters, and news clippings about Lillian Lorraine. Back before his mother, Nanny Johnson, married, she had been the paid companion (and best friend) to Ms. Lorraine, hired by Ziegfeld to try and control some of Lorraine's excesses. When Nanny Johnson married, she kept in touch with Lorraine for a few years, until it became obvious that Lorraine's visits were not good examples for the children: Lorraine would show up drunk.
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Editors of Publications International Ltd. After that, contact was cut off, but the contents of the trunk showed that Nanny Johnson Hanson had not lost interest in her friend. Nils Hanson's interest was sparked; what had happened to Lillian Lorraine? His search took him many years, but between the contents of the trunk, some recordings his sister had made of their mother talking about her youth with Lorraine, and the members of the Ziegfeld Club (a benevolent association of women who had been members of Flo Ziegfeld's shows), he was able to piece together her younger life.

In 1910, Lillian Lorraine was a stunningly beautiful girl of 17 when she was discovered by Flo Ziegfeld. He made her a soloist in his shows and his mistress for a while. She made a lot of money, and received very expensive gifts from both Ziegfeld and other admirers. But she made bad choices in men- her husband's were criminals after her money- drank too much and used drugs, and gave money away to friends who were in trouble. Debts mounted, and as the bloom of her youth faded, she found herself without work. She did not have enough talent to sustain the public's interest in her. She ended up a lonely alcoholic and was buried in a pauper's grave in 1955. What had happened? What was this meteoric rise and fall like? This book answers those questions.

This is a beautiful biography, full of photos and news clippings. It's not just about Ms. Lorraine, but about the Ziegfeld shows and the age itself. Many of the pictures are of other performers; many anecdotes bring them to life. The Broadway of that era is fascinating to me. The last of the Ziegfeld girls are gone now, but their stories are preserved here. Reading this was like taking a trip through time to a time and place of glamour and excess.