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THE CONSTANT SINNER
A story of the life and adventures of a femme fatale set during the Roaring Twenties. Original title: Babe Gordon.
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1930
About the author
Mae West
34 books1,235 followersMae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.
Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer in the motion picture industry.
One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many problems including censorship.
When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock and roll albums.
Famous for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress and writer in the motion picture industry.
One of the most controversial stars of her day, West encountered many problems including censorship.
When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock and roll albums.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 28, 2017
This is a very period piece. If you love the roaring twenties but want a different perspective than the glamour of The Great Gatsby, then as long as you keep in mind that much of this book is written in the vernacular and colloquialisms of the day then this should prove a slightly informative read.
My initial view of this was 1930 smut. When I read I found Miss West to be dealing more in the psychology of the "new woman". This philosophy boils down to, if a man can have as many partners as he wants, then shouldn't a woman have the same right. I don't personally agree with that philosophy for either party, but the book sets about to design this femme fatale in the most glorious of lights.
It is slow, poorly written or at best written to the common man of 1930 when illiteracy was as high as 16% in some sections of America. It is not Shakespeare and although it has gone through five editions, these seem to be very early editions and have not stood the test of time. The book is rare in the sense that copies are scarce, but there is no real push for this book as a classic. If anything it could be called a novelty and no better.
My initial view of this was 1930 smut. When I read I found Miss West to be dealing more in the psychology of the "new woman". This philosophy boils down to, if a man can have as many partners as he wants, then shouldn't a woman have the same right. I don't personally agree with that philosophy for either party, but the book sets about to design this femme fatale in the most glorious of lights.
It is slow, poorly written or at best written to the common man of 1930 when illiteracy was as high as 16% in some sections of America. It is not Shakespeare and although it has gone through five editions, these seem to be very early editions and have not stood the test of time. The book is rare in the sense that copies are scarce, but there is no real push for this book as a classic. If anything it could be called a novelty and no better.
February 17, 2018
I didn’t expect to like the book as much as I did. It started off slow but picked up the pace rather quickly. The main character Babe reminds me a lot of Scarlet O’Hara, in that she’s a true opportunist, and looking out to satisfy her own pleasures, no matter who she has to betray in order to do so. No matter what happened, this woman always landed on her feet and quickly was on to the next big thing when her current situation got stale. This book is almost a hundred years old, but the material was fresh, and it was a fun read. I’m so surprised by how entertaining her adventures were, although I was horrified too. If you love an anti-hero, she’s it. This is a terrible terrible woman that in spite of myself, I couldn’t help but admire.
June 5, 2016
Fully aware that I'm probably the only person on Goodreads that didn't enjoy this. I did not find the characters or writing engaging in the least, and it was such a slow starter that I soon lost interest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews