The Little Girl Who Fought the Great Depression: Shirley Temple and 1930s America

Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated a spirit of optimism and plucky good cheer. Her image appeared in periodicals and advertisements daily; she rivalled Franklin D. Roosevelt and Edward VIII as the most photographed person in the world. For four consecutive years she was the world’s box-office champion. John F. Kasson shows how Temple astonished movie veterans, created a new international culture of celebrity and revolutionised the role of children as consumers. Celebrating the prospect of lifting the Depression, tap-dancing across racial boundaries with Bill Bojangles Robinson, foiling villains and mending the hearts of the deserving, she personified the hopes and dreams of Americans while working virtually every day of her childhood.