Aug. 28, 2025 – For absolutely no reason at all, we decided to curate a list of books this week about the life of a showgirl. Purely by coincidence, this seemed like a good time to present a list of books about musicians, dancers, actresses, and performers chasing fame, navigating the travails of a public life, and finding love in the spotlight.
These novels range in time from the 1890s to today, from the heyday of old Hollywood to Las Vegas to the bright lights of New York City. If you need a little escapism, romance, and drama, these are the books for you. Browse the list below, and place books on hold in our catalog by clicking on their covers.
"The Show Girl" by Nicola Harrison (2021)
It's 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more – even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way. Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy, and the only man she's ever met who seems to accept her modern ways, her independent nature, and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage, he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.
"The Sisters Sweet" by Elizabeth Weiss (2021)
All Harriet Szász has ever known is life onstage with her twin sister, Josie. As "The Sisters Sweet," they pose as conjoined twins in a vaudeville act conceived of by their ambitious father and managed by their practical mother, who were once theatrical stars in their own rights. Then, in an explosive act, Josie exposes the fraud in a spectacular fashion and runs away to Hollywood. The family retreats to Chicago, where Harriet must figure out how to live out of the spotlight – and her sister's shadow. Striving to keep her struggling family afloat, Harriet molds herself into the perfect daughter. But she also begins to form her first relationships outside her family. As Josie's star rises and as the Szászes fall on hard times, Harriet must decide whether to honor her mother, her father, or the self she's only beginning to get to know.
"Last Dance on the Starlight Pier" by Sarah Bird (2022)
July 3, 1932. Shivering and in shock, Evie Grace Devlin watches the Starlite Palace burn into the sea and wonders how she became a person who would cause a man to kill himself. She'd come to Galveston to escape a dark past in vaudeville and become a good person, a nurse. When that dream is cruelly thwarted, Evie is swept into the alien world of dance marathons. All that she has been denied – a family, a purpose, even love – waits for her there in the place she dreads most: the spotlight.
"A Showgirl's Rules for Falling in Love" by Alice Murphy (2025)
New York City, 1897: A new fashion for thin threatens to end the career of proudly fat vaudeville performer Evelyn Cross. When Thomas Gallier, the man behind the promising new palace of entertainment hears Evelyn sing, he knows he's found the star of his new spectacular. But neither is prepared for the feelings they develop over rehearsals, dinners, a trip to Coney Island, and dancing at Tin Pan Alley – much to the displeasure of Nehemiah Alban, a media mogul determined to arrange a union between Thomas and his own daughter. As opening night approaches, Evelyn and Thomas find themselves at the center of a culture war, prudish society types, conniving newspapermen, and corrupt cops on one side and Evelyn's effervescent community of fat, queer, BIPOC, immigrant, and working-class artists on the other. Framing this story, present-day narrator and historian Phoebe steps in to reveal secrets and show readers what it really means to claim self-love. Inspired by the true story of a Progressive Era troupe of plus-size dancers, this is a story about the spirit of community and the power of romance.
"Swing Time" by Zadie Smith (2016)
Two brown girls dream of being dancers – but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about Black bodies and Black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live. But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey – the same twists, the same shakes – and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017)
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn's life unfolds, revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love, Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn's story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.
"Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo (2022)
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers." Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill – but she doesn't care. She'd rather play a monster than a maid. But in Luli's world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes – even if that means becoming the monster herself.
"City of Girls" by Elizabeth Gilbert (2019)
In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves – and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life – and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is."
"All the Beautiful Girls" by Elizabeth J. Church (2018)
In the summer of 1968, Ruby Wilde is the toast of Las Vegas. Showgirl of the Year, in her feathers and rhinestones, five-inch heels and sky-high headdresses, she mesmerizes audiences from the Tropicana to the Stardust. Ratpackers and movie stars, gamblers and astronauts vie for her attention and shower her with gifts. But not so long ago Ruby Wilde was Lily Decker from Kansas, an orphaned girl determined to dance her way out of her troubled past. When she was eight years old, Lily survived the car crash that killed her parents and sister. Raised by an aunt who took too little interest in her and an uncle who took too much, dancing was her solace and her escape. When a mysterious benefactor pays for her to attend a local dance academy, Lily’s talent becomes her ticket to a new life. Now, as Ruby Wilde, the ultimate Sin City success story, she discovers that the glare of the spotlight cannot banish the shadows that haunt her. As the years pass and Ruby continues to search for freedom, for love and, most importantly, herself, she must learn the difference between what glitters and what is truly gold.
"The Girls in the Picture" by Melanie Benjamin (2018)
It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone's lips these days is "flickers" – the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you'll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all. In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have given her the title of America's Sweetheart. The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution. But their ambitions are challenged both by the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender – and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world's highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered.