AUDIO

Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham

9 CDs. 11 hrs. Tantor. 2015. ISBN 9781494517977. $37.99. 1 MP3-CD. BIOG
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Henrietta Bingham was the daughter of a wealthy Louisville family. Her mother died when Henrietta was 12 and the girl became close to her father, a newspaper publisher with political connections. Mr. Bingham was appointed ambassador to England by Franklin Roosevelt. His personable daughter instead of his third wife served as hostess in London. Henrietta, on the fringes of the Bloomsbury Group, was acquainted with many public figures of the day. She had affairs with both men and women, judgment from family and friends about the latter leading to despair and addiction later in life. This meticulously researched story of Henrietta's life by her great-niece, Emily Bingham, draws on a trove of personal correspondence pieced together to tell of the life of a woman struggling to cope with her sexuality in a social world where she was a nonconformist. Impeccably read by actress Christina Delaine.
VERDICT Though well executed, this biography will likely have limited appeal. Those interested in the history of acceptance of homosexuality and those with local connections to Louisville may enjoy. ["A fascinating glimpse into Southern LGBT history and another angle on the exploits of the Bloomsbury Group": LJ 4/15/15 review of the Farrar hc.]
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