ABSTRACT
If the teen years of the twentieth century held the promise of a life beyond industrial labor, the twenties seem to deliver on the promise. And celebrity culture shifted along with the era’s economic growth (which I will describe in the upcoming section). Publicity stories no longer constructed celebrities as living simple lives, having risen from subsistence to middle-class comfort. Instead, celebrity stories of the 1920s stressed the possibility of riches and fame, along with some of the moral hazards it brought, particularly for young women. Celebrity tales reflected the tension between attaining massive wealth and maintaining self-control in times of plenty, particularly as women had greater opportunities. Reflecting the Horatio Alger myth of rising from poverty to wealth and the Puritan ethic of selfrestraint, stories both celebrated the blessings of wealth while warning of the dangers of plenty.
