Last Dance on the Starlight Pier: A Novel

Sarah Bird

Apr 2022 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Set during the Great Depression, Sarah Bird's Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a novel about one woman—and a nation—struggling to be reborn from the ashes.

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.

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a sweeping novel that brings to spectacular life the enthralling worlds of both dance marathons and the family-run empire of vice that was Galveston in the Thirties. Unforgettable characters tell a story that is still deeply resonant today as America learns what Evie learns, that there truly isn’t anything this country can’t do when we do it together. That indomitable spirit powers a story that is a testament to the deep well of resilience in us all that allows us to not only survive the hardest of hard times, but to find joy, friends, and even family, in them.

Ratings and reviews

This is historical fiction plus romance and family drama. Evie Devlin wants to be a nurse but ends up dancing in a marathon in order to help make her dream come true. She has a tragic backstory with an emotionally abusive mother, especially after her doting father died young. In the marathon, Evie lives her dream of nursing, taking care of the dancers and their many maladies. The writing style was original, with a lot of descriptions about the historical background (set in the Depression) and well-researched details about dance marathons and the lives of the participants. There was also some details about vaudeville since Evie’s dad had participated as a dancer in shows with vaudeville. The story did seem to drag in places with some repetitive details, but all in all, it was a good story that needed to be told. When Evie falls in love with Zave, the “Happy Hoofer”, she opens herself up to more heartache and there ends up being a surprise ending with Zave that was a satisfactory conclusion to the story. Told at times like a history book and at others like the romantic tale of a young woman who has had a hard life and dares to still dream, this book was entertaining and soundly researched. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy it while fans of romance and family drama will not be disappointed at all. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

About the author

SARAH BIRD was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award, she was selected for the Meryl Streep Screenwriting Lab, the B&N Discover Great Writers program, NPR's Moth Radio series, the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and New York Libraries Books to Remember. Her previous novel, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen, is based on the true story of the only woman to serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.