Adam's Belle

the long version

Adam’s Belle is a roller coaster ride through the life of the late Isabel Washington Powell. This first-person narrative charges through Isabel’s life from her early childhood days as a baby “drama queen” in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia to her stage debut kicking up her heels at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club in the 1920’s. Isabel soon meets a real life “Prince Charming” who happens to be the nation’s most eligible bachelor – Adam Clayton Powell Jr. The two fall madly in love and plan to share their “heaven on earth” for the rest of their lives. With much pain and agony, Isabel learns that not all fairy tales have happy endings. Ultimately, she develops the strength to celebrate herself and even overcome breast cancer on her 100-year journey to becoming a true living legend. Belle and her older sister Fredi Washington (star of the Academy Award nominated 1934 film “Imitation of Life”) put the “roar” in “roaring twenties.” Adam’s Belle is a riveting story that pulls the reader in and never lets go.