Hers is the show business saga you think you already know--but you ain't seen nothin' yet. Rose Thompson Hovick, mother of June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lee, went down in theatrical history as "The Stage Mother from Hell" after her immortalization on Broadway in Gypsy: A Musical Fable . Yet the musical was 75 percent fictionalized by playwright Arthur Laurents, tailored to fit the larger-than-life personality of Broadway star Ethel Merman, and condensed for the stage. Rose's full story is even more striking. Born fearless on the North Dakota prairie in 1891, Rose Thompson had a kind father and a gallivanting mother who sold lacy finery to prostitutes. She became an unhappy teenage bride whose marriage yielded two entrancing daughters, Louise and June. When June was discovered to be a child prodigy in ballet, capable of dancing en pointe by the age of three, Rose, without benefit of any theatrical training, set out to create onstage opportunities for her magical baby girl--and succeeded. Rose followed her own star and created two more in dramatic and colorful style: "Baby June" became a child headliner in vaudeville, and Louise grew up to be the well-known burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee. The rest of Mama Rose's remarkable story included two husbands and countless love affairs, the operation of a "pick-up joint" where she charged admission and sold homemade bathtub gin, wild attempts to extort money from Gypsy and June, two stints as a chicken farmer, and three allegations of cold-blooded murder--all of which was deemed unfit for the script of Gypsy . Here, at last, is the rollicking, wild saga that never made it to the stage. It took half a century after the premiere of the musical Gypsy for someone to tell the true-life story of ‘Mama Rose’ Hovick, but thanks to Carolyn Quinn’s detailed research and gift for readable prose, it was more than worth the wait. The ruthless stage mother of legend turns out to be far more human, understandable―and in some respects, even more believably terrifying―than the monstrous character that Merman, Russell, Lansbury, Daly, Peters, LuPone, and so many others have played to acclaim. Fans of the musical will be fascinated by this book, but so will anyone interested in reading a damn good biography. -- John Kenrick, theatrical historian Here she really is, boys! Here she truly is, world! Carolyn Quinn proves that the Rose whom we came to know in Gypsy was―and wasn’t―accurately portrayed in the famous musical. Quinn has done meticulous work in finding newspaper clippings nearly a century old, poring over vintage photos and interviewing descendants to put together a fascinating new look at June and Louise’s mother. She may strike you as better than you’d assumed―or worse―but there’s no doubt that Mama Rose’s Turn: The True Story of America’s Most Notorious Stage Mother delivers information that ranges from juicy to sobering in a completely remarkable biography. -- Peter Filichia, author of Broadway musicals The full story behind the "Stage Mother from Hell" and every scandal too shocking for Gypsy: A Musical Fable Greetings, Readers! I researched Rose Thompson Hovick's story with one thought in mind: to find out the truth about this fascinating, and often maligned or misunderstood, stage mother who became a theatrical legend after she had passed away in 1954.   I initially thought it would turn out to be a very different kind of a story. Rose's two daughters had written three memoirs and two plays between them, and one of the memoirs inspired Arthur Laurents to write the Broadway musical GYPSY. Laurents, understandably, fictionalized his version for the dramatic impact it would provide on the stage, and did so brilliantly, but it was the daughters' accounts that fascinated me most. They did not match up too well, which meant there was another story there that nobody had found yet... The real truth of Rose's saga began to emerge when I started fact-checking the material. I am pleased that by taking a closer look I finally found out what  really  happened in the life of this intrepid and complicated woman who has been portrayed on Broadway by Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone, in London by Imelda Staunton, and in movies by Rosalind Russell and Bette Midler.  Barbra Streisand is said to have a new movie of GYPSY in development.  The real Rose Hovick would probably be astounded to know how many wonderful, creative people have been, and continue to be, inspired by her story - and then would take a bow.So here she is, boys!   Here she is , world!   Here's Rose! All the best, Carolyn Quinn The full story behind the "Stage Mother from Hell" and every scandal too shocking for Gypsy: A Musical Fable "It took half a century after the premiere of the musical Gypsy for someone to tell the true life story of 'Mama Rose' Hovick, but thanks to Carolyn Quinn's detailed research and gift for readable prose, it was more than worth