Queenie

Courtenay Wolcott was born into money-lots of it-when in her early teens, her wealthy lifestyle was torn from her. Suddenly forced to hobnob with the lower classes she'd always disdained and mocked, now out of her social element, she struggled to keep a balance, surviving a severe beating, endless harassment, constant humiliation, ethical issues and emotional turmoil as she struggled to fit in with the poorer elements of society. A vicious family scandal allowed her to finally realize the true goodness of the "Not of Our Kind, Dear" people. This is a great story of awakening, realization and maturing. Poet, songwriter Samuel Blake, poetry author and former Bradley PhD Fellow at Tufts University. This coming of age book about a young girl of great wealth suddenly forced into the world of the have-nots kept me riveted. As an entertainment publicist and PR person I don't have much time to read, but author LC Van Savage caused me to put my clients on hold while I read every word. Great story Tommy Lightfoot Garrett, Entertainment Publicist and Writer

Elsie (LC) Van Savage was born on Staten Island, New York, and lived in Brunswick, Maine since 1974 with her husband Stephen. They have three sons, and six grandchildren. Her column ＂LC’s Take＂ appeared in the Times Record in Brunswick, Maine for over 30 years, and now appears weekly in The Coastal Journal out of Bath Maine. She’s had articles and short stories published in magazines, small press magazines, anthologies and books. Rhymed and rhythmed poetry book ＂LC’s Take - Poetry- I.＂ LC also had a local TV show on Maine Public Broadcasting Network for 15 years called ＂incredibleMAINE＂ travelling to film interesting shows about our state, her people and the things they do. She also had a weekly radio show for 3 years called ＂Senior Moment＂ broadcast from Bowdoin College. A collaborative writer, she wrote a book with Marilyn Monroe’s first husband (Jim Dougherty) entitled, ＂To Norma Jeane with Love, Jimmie,＂ featured on E!, TV Guide, The Larry King Show and Bill Green’s Maine; the biography of Virginia Mayo, a movie star famous from the l930s through the ’70s entitled, ＂The Best Years of My Life,＂ and the biography of John Agar, Shirley Temple’s first husband and a famous star from the 40s, entitled ＂On the Good Ship Hollywood.＂ She authored a how-to book called ＂How to Paint People’s Life Stories.＂ Although she no longer paints people’s entire life stories in (often) mural sized paintings in the ＂outsider-art＂ genre (aka ＂primitive＂ or Grandma Moses style, ) but now paints smaller, one- subject personal bio paintings. A semi-autobiographical novel is called ＂Queenie’s Ascent,＂ a story of a wealthy young girl in the 1950s who is abruptly ripped from her affluent life-debutante parties, servants, country clubs, horses, trips abroad, and most importantly, private schools, -- and is dumped into a very tough and ＂low class＂ public school filled with not any PLO - People Like Ourselves. She is frightened and has a most difficult time adjusting and coping. Her classmates name her ＂Queenie＂ because they think she behaves in a rather superior and ＂foreign＂ way and they quickly disabuse her of her exalted airs. A shocking and brutal scandal rocks her family while Queenie is at the public school, involving her father and several teachers from her old private school. Queenie is taught and finally learns, much against her will, how to survive this new life and how to be at peace amongst people for whom she had, until then, nothing but contempt.