cover image She Always Knew How: Mae West, a Personal Biography

She Always Knew How: Mae West, a Personal Biography

Charlotte Chandler, . . Simon & Schuster, $26 (317pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-7909-0

Chandler (Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford ) draws on her interviews with the 86-year-old Mae West, known for her “risqué brand of humor,” in this chatty memoir. West carefully constructed and guarded the image of her personality as a woman who enjoyed sex at a time when “skirts had to cover ankles.” She contended she was “never vulgar. The word for me was suggestive.” West (1893–1980) craved the spotlight from a young age and had been a success in vaudeville, where she began to write her own material. Her screen legend perfected her sexually playful alter ego in such films as She Done Him Wrong , which contained her most quoted line: “Come up and see me sometime.” Chandler also includes West's first-person account of her 10 days in jail, when she was found guilty of producing an immoral Broadway show, her first full-length play, Sex . West remained a box-office draw into her 70s, appearing in the 1970 film Myra Breckinridge . Whether discussing her love life or advising on playwriting or beauty tips, Mae West was always entertaining. Photos. (Feb.)