The first-ever biography of a trailblazing star of yesteryear, a
colorful tale, full of grit and glamour
With her hourglass figure and Marilyn Monroe looks, Joan Rhodes would
leave audiences speechless as she bent steel bars with her teeth, ripped
large phone books into quarters, and lifted two men at a time. But what
she did was real. Joan had a superstrength, forged out of desperation to
survive.
Born into poverty in 1920s London and abandoned by her parents, Joan
endured a spell in the workhouse and earned scraps busking on the
streets. Despite the worst possible start, she made it to the top of her
profession to rub sequined shoulders with the likes of Fred Astaire, Bob
Hope and Sammy Davis Jnr. Joan's crowning glory was to perform for the
Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle, and along the way she made
lifelong friendships with Marlene Dietrich, Quentin Crisp and Dame Laura
Knight, kindred spirits who lived as fearlessly as she did.
Biographer Triona Holden met Joan in her later years. When Joan passed
away, Triona set out to secure her beloved friend's place in history.
She appeared on the BBC TV show The Repair Shop to tell the
strongwoman's story, and sifted through archives to retrace her journey
to stardom.
Joan saw herself as a freak, but in truth she was a champion for the
so-called fairer sex. At a time when women were still groomed for
marriage and motherhood, An Iron Girl in a Velvet Glove tells the
fascinating and tumultuous story of a woman who followed her own unique
path.
