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From Dust to Stardust
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
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From Dust to Stardust
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Summary
From the bestselling author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk comes a novel about Hollywood, the cost of stardom, and selfless second acts, inspired by an extraordinary true story.
Chicago, 1916. Doreen O’Dare is fourteen years old when she hops a Hollywood-bound train with her beloved Irish grandmother. Within a decade, her trademark bob and insouciant charm make her the preeminent movie flapper of the Jazz Age. But her success story masks one of relentless ambition, tragedy, and the secrets of a dangerous marriage.
Her professional life in flux, Doreen trades one dream for another. She pours her wealth and creative energy into a singular achievement: the construction of a one-ton miniature Fairy Castle, the likes of which the world has never seen. So begins Doreen’s public tour to lift the nation’s spirits during the Great Depression—and a personal journey worth remembering.
A sweeping journey from the dawn of the motion picture era through turbulent twentieth-century America, From Dust to Stardust is a breathtaking novel about one determined woman navigating change, challenging the price of fame, and sharing the gift of real magic.
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Critic reviews
“Narrator Xe Sands and author Rooney reunite years after their multiple award-winning Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk for another award-worthy collaboration.… Sands's voice and cadence mesmerize and will make listeners wholly invested in Eileen's rise to fame and subsequent fall to obscurity. As Eileen recounts tumultuous times…Sands gives her voice a mature pragmatism. She performs other Hollywood characters with glitz and glam, joy and bitterness, demonstrating the breadth of her skill.… A delight of a historical novel about the Golden Age of Hollywood, perfect for fans of Juliette Fay's City of Flickering Light, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's When Women Invented Television, and Elizabeth Gilbert's City of Girls.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“After captivating listeners in Rooney’s 2017 hit Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Sands returns to voice Rooney’s latest historical novel. Sands’ low, gravelly voice is again a fine choice for an older lead character looking back on life.… Sands convincingly embodies Eileen’s ambition and strength and captures the story’s nostalgic, moving tone. Her performance helps keep listeners engaged. Fans who love a solid blend of biography and fiction are in for a treat.”—Booklist
“Kathleen Rooney deftly weaves delectable film and women’s history into her enrapturing tale… [Her] delight in the real story behind this richly faceted novel burnishes it to a bewitching luster.”—Booklist (starred review)