Ace, Marvel, Spy: A Novel of Alice Marble
Alice Marble (1913-1990) rose to the world’s no. 1 tennis rank in the late 1930s. This fictionalized account focuses on two alternating timelines—Alice’s journey to the top of the tennis world and her many other activities during WWII. After the war halted tennis competitions, she became the associate editor of Wonder Woman magazine, designed sportswear, and performed as a singer and actress. She was recruited by the US as a spy and assigned a dangerous mission in Europe.
Her successes did not come easily. Raised by a widowed mother, she had to scrounge for money to travel to junior tournaments. Later, she suffered serious illnesses, car crashes, and the loss of the love of her life. Yet, Alice pulled through again and again. She even published her first memoir in 1946. In her last years, Alice co-authored a second and full-life memoir, released after her death.
Walsh used the second memoir as her main source for facts about Alice. However, the end note explains some of the memoir’s embellishments and inaccuracies, as well as important characters that have no other record. Walsh’s retelling delves deeply into the relationships with family, adversaries and lovers. Alice’s bumpiest relationship is with her long-time coach, contract negotiator and chaperone, Eleanor “Teach” Tennant. Divorced and no fan of men, Teach discovers Alice in junior tournaments and tries to keep a tight tennis-above-all hold through Alice’s stardom, romantic entanglements, and beyond. The strength of this novel is its deep exploration of Alice’s motives and emotions. The intensity and determination to pull through injuries and heartaches, to finish and excel at every task, and to assert her independence in a man’s world, are evident. Recommended for readers wanting to learn more about a multi-talented tennis legend.
