With Billie
With Billie by Julia Blackburn, published by Pantheon on April 19, 2005, is a vivid exploration of the life of Billie Holiday, a woman whose voice and presence continue to resonate. This First American Edition spans 368 pages and delves into Holiday’s tumultuous life, marked by her struggles with addiction, legal troubles, and the scandals that defined her public persona in the 1940s and 1950s. Blackburn captures the complexity of Holiday’s character, portraying her as a volatile and unpredictable figure whose moods could shift dramatically.
In this book, readers will encounter a rich tapestry of voices from those who knew Holiday, including musicians, lovers, and critics, each sharing personal anecdotes that reveal different facets of her life. The narrative presents a multifaceted portrait of a woman who was both captivating and elusive, illustrating the contradictions that made her such a compelling figure. With Billie invites readers to engage with the intimate stories that surround Holiday, offering insights into her enduring legacy and the impact she had on those around her.
Official synopsis Publisher
From Julia Blackburn, an author whose ability to conjure lives from other times and places is so vivid that one suspects she sees ghosts, here is a portrait of a woman whose voice continues to haunt anyone who hears it.
Billie Holiday’s life is inseparable from an account of her troubles, her addictions, her arrests, and the scandals that would repeatedly put her name in the tabloid headlines of the 1940s and 1950s. Those who knew her learned never to be surprised by what she might do. Her moods and faces were so various that she could seem to be a different woman from one moment to the next. Volatile, unpredictable, Billie Holiday remained, even to her friends, an elusive and perplexing figure.
In With Billie, we hear the voices of those people–piano players and dancers, pimps and junkies, lovers and narcs, producers and critics, each recalling intimate stories of the Billie they knew. What emerges is a portrait of a complex, contradictory, enthralling woman, a woman who knew what really mattered to her. Reading With Billie, one is convinced that she has only just left the room but will return shortly.
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