Tanqueray
The captivating life story of Stephanie Johnson, from the bestselling author of Humans of New York
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- 9,99 €
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- 9,99 €
Publisher Description
One of Humans of New York’s most followed stories: the tale of Stephanie Johnson, better known as Tanqueray. A born performer who emerged from a troubled youth to become one of the best-known burlesque dancers in New York City.
The storytelling phenomenon Humans of New York has long captivated a global audience with personal narratives that illuminate the human condition. But one story stood apart from the rest. When it featured a photo of a woman in an outrageous fur coat and hat she made herself, she instantly captured the attention of millions.
Reeling from a brutal childhood, immersed in a world of go-go dancers and hustlers, dirty cops and gangsters, Stephanie Johnson was determined to become the fiercest thing New York City had ever seen. Real, raw, and unapologetically honest, this is her story, as told by Humans of New York creator and New York Times bestselling author Brandon Stanton.
A memoir filled with never-before-told stories of struggles and triumph and unseen personal photos, it will take you to 1970s New York City when the name 'Tanqueray' was on everyone’s lips.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two years after Johnson shared her story on Stanton's popular Instagram account Humans of New York, she commands the spotlight again in this hypnotizing account of her past as a Black burlesque dancer. Of their first encounter in 2020, Stanton writes in the foreword that the septuagenarian immediately captivated him—and later more than three million Instagram users—with tales of dancing in New York City in the 1970s under her stage name, Tanqueray. With help from Stanton, Johnson returns to those stories to bare it all on the page. Recalling the many travails she faced before finally running away to New York City, Johnson details her childhood growing up with an abusive mother in 1940s Albany, N.Y.; a teenage pregnancy with a married man; and a prison stint for burglary. Forced to give up the baby for adoption, Johnson moved to the city with dreams of dancing on Broadway and eventually started performing in adult theaters. Johnson's storytelling skills are undeniable as she dispenses tantalizing anecdotes, from bumping elbows with James Brown to hustling side gigs, like sewing custom sequined G-strings from dental floss. While her exploits are titillating, Johnson reminds readers that "underneath all the laughs and the gags, it was always about one thing: survival." This has it all: humor, intrigue, and heart.
