MJP – San Francisco Book Review

I’m not going to lie; I was not initially excited
about Mr. Crisci’s account of “theatrical agent extraordinaire,” Mary Jackson Peale. What I found in the pages of Crisci’s tome was romance, betrayal, redemption, and some serious gumption on the part of Ms. Jackson Peale. And the ending — oh the ending — was absolutely breathtaking. I apologize for my prematurely uninformed
opinion and now rate Rise and Fall of Mary Jackson
Peale as one of my top 10 best books of the year.
The plot twists and character developments are
unexpected to say the least and incredibly hard to describe in a mere 400 words. Mary Jackson Peale man ages to burn her bridges in London through a series of illicit lesbian affairs and is forced to flee to America and start anew. Thus, Mary and all her baggage (mostly emotional)
arrive in the states with a criminal past, no money, no contacts in the theatrical world, and nowhere to live. One by one, these complications get resolved and within no time at all, Mary Jackson Peale has catapulted herself into theater fame as an agent to the stars.
Life’s looking up for Ms. Peale. That is; until her world collapses on her with a bang that I’m certain was heard around the world.
Clearly, Ms. Peale will not be forgotten, thanks to Mr. Crisci’s fantastic portrayal of her. Rise and Fall of Mary Jackson Peale takes the cake as the best theater-oriented book I’ve read in a while. Thank you to Crisci for reminding me not to judge a book by its cover. Glad I didn’t miss this gem!