EVERY WEEK, WE bring you a round-up of the best longreads of the past seven days in Sitdown Sunday.

And now, every weeknight, we bring you an evening longread to enjoy which will help you to escape the news cycle. 

We’ll be keeping an eye on new longreads and digging back into the archives for some classics.

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple came to public attention as a Depression-era star, and went on to become a political candidate and an ambassador. Here’s more on her fascinating life. 

(Vanity Fair, approx 10 mins reading time)

Working right alongside her was Gertrude, who served as her acting coach and fierce protector. “When Shirley was in bed, Gertrude would read any lines she had to say the next day. Shirley would repeat them ‘word for word five or six times,’” Edwards writes. “She might say, ‘You’re supposed to feel very happy when you say this line, Presh’…or ‘You’re supposed to be eating a thick sandwich while you’re saying these lines,’ and Shirley would practice this bit of action.” Her mother was also right off camera as Temple shot her scenes, calling out, “sparkle, Shirley, sparkle,” before the camera rolled. Gertrude and her husband, George, a banker, made sure Shirley was cloistered from other child actors. She also ensured that any young thespians who might upstage her daughter had their parts substantially cut. 

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