My Interest

While I’m not big on sports, tennis is more than sport–at least it was in Alice Marple’s day. It was part of gracious living. So, I asked and #Netgalley granted.
The Story and My Thoughts

Back in the day when women playing sports was novel, Alice Marvel was a star. She was great friends with some of the lights of her day–William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, and most of all, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard. She was coached by the great “Teach” Tennant. She went on to win 18 Grand Slam tournaments, had a longtime “friendship” with Will Du Pont (who helped her financially) and coached young tennis players include the future superstar Billy Jean Moffatt King among others.
My Thoughts

At the University I told students 80% your words, 20% quotes or paraphrases of others was about right. I’m pretty sure the author did not hold to this. I got tired of hearing references to Marble’s autobiography. No matter, it was an interesting biography.

The audio performer though needed help.

Mispronounced:

Diocese
Calling the Women’s Army Corps “The W-A-C” instead of “The WACs”–as in “The WACs who Dressed in Slacks” [like “wacks”]
George Cukor
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Sadly, there were several more

My Verdict
3.75

This is the interesting and eventful story of the life of Alice Marble, one of the pioneers of women's tennis in the U.S. Blais details her entry into her tennis career and all of the lives that this led her to live. It details Marble's aptitude for being an unreliable narrator but also lends to the credence of everything that she did live through.

What an incredible and at times unbelievable life Marble lived! I know that there is definitely speculation that Marble embellished a lot about her life, but it was still fun to learn about her. The thing that struck me the most about this story is that, as a huge tennis fan, I had never heard of her prior to listening to this book. It really is a shame because even though her overall narrative of life may be exaggerated; you cannot take away her tennis history and all of the wonderful things she did to help break the color barrier in her sport. As I type this, the US Open is entering the semifinals and this is also the 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King fighting for equal pay for women. This book really made me reflect on how much the humanity of the game has improved and all of the women that helped pave the way. I will also say that my friends were also impressed with what I learned as well and want to read the book, too. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this great audiobook.

I somehow keep clicking on these Historical Tennis books! Again I am shocked I did not know much about Alice Marble as I grew up playing tennis, but apparently I have pretty limited knowledge of the great women who paved the way for us women today in the great sport.
What shocks and amazes me about the greats like Althea and Alice Marble is how tennis consumed their every waking moment. Alice had some very interesting life choices (smoking for one) It was sad to see how hard she worked and how many obstacles she over came in her personal life. I enjoyed reading about her adventurous life and all her dabbles in the celebrity world.
This telling of Alice Marble was a bit disconjointed at the end as Alice's reporting and documenting seemed to be fabricated at times. Blais does a decent job of informing the reader of what is real and what is "according" to Ms Marble.
Anyone who is interested in sports history, especially women's tennis, I would suggest adding this to their list. Alice was a trail blazer for sure, setting the ways with her power style of play and fashion. I enjoyed her competitive drive and love for the sport.
Thank you Net Galley for this advanced copy of "Queen of the Court: The Man Lives of Tennis Legend Alice Marble" I was not influenced or paid for my honest review.