The Silver Flask

by Betty Ruth Read

The Roaring Twenties come to life in this extraordinary story of two couples who become soul mates and are on their way to wealth and fame. Talented teenager Annie sees the amazing dancer Mark at local dance contests in Fort Worth, Texas. She watches Mark and his beautiful dance partner tear up the floor, and sip from a silver flask. Determined to dance with Mark and find out what is in the flask, Annie defies her conservative parents and starts following Mark. Eventually she becomes his dance partner, and discovers that the lovely woman he used to dance with is his sister, Lorraine. Against her parents’ objections, she moves in with Lorraine, who is the mistress to Greg, a very wealthy man in an unhappy marriage. Greg recognizes Mark and Annie’s potential, and becomes their manager. United in talent and love, Mark and Annie marry, and become “The Dancing Kromers.” Mark and Annie, and Greg and Lorraine bond deeply through adventures as wild as the times they live in, from Fort Worth to Broadway, from the glow of the footlights to the glare of temptation, from show girls to gangsters, and from unknowns to millionaires benefiting from the oil boom. Vivid, colorful, richly characterized, The Silver Flask is a page-turner that will draw you in and enchant you with the best of a bygone era.

340 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Linda Bendiksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book finished in 2016! This story, written by the grandmother of a dear friend, is part time capsule, part soap opera. I think my favorite part is the reference to the wisdom of Somerset Maugham, one of my favorite authors!

[Wendy Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about two couples, a sister in one couple and the brother in the other couple. This all happens in the 1920's and is unbelievable the amount of money they make, places they go and life they live. Annie doesn't trust banks and hides her money in old shoe boxes. When one has $50,000 she starts a new box! So it is an interesting read of their life of dancing.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Anna Faversham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book just before Christmas which was good as there are some lovely Christmas scenes in it.

An innocent girl meets a sophisticated couple. In a short time Annie's life has changed. The book evokes the era well (1920s).

It's an affirmation of the human capacity to grow (to borrow part of a quotation from the book).