Set in a vanished time, and in the fantastically rich world of vaudeville, The Little Shadows revolves around three sisters: Aurora, the eldest and most beautiful, sixteen when the book opens; thoughtful Clover, who is fourteen; and the youngest, joyous headstrong sprite Bella, who is thirteen. The girls, overseen by their fond but barely coping Mama, must make their living as a singing act after the untimely death of their father. They begin with little besides youth and hope, but Endicott's genius is to show how the three girls evolve into true artists. In gorgeous prose and through unforgettable characters, Marina Endicott takes us onto the brightly lit stage and then into the little shadows that lurk behind the curtain, and reveals how the art of vaudeville--in all its variety, madness, melodrama, hilarity and sorrow--echoes the art of life itself.