Madame Sarah: Sarah Bernhardt.
Skinner, Cornelia Otis.
Place Published: Boston:
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company,
Date Published: 1962.
Description: 356 pages with Bibliography, Index and 24 pages of black and white photographs. The condition of the book is NEAR FINE with minor edgewear to board edges. The jacket is in VERY GOOD condition with slight wear, small closed tear to outside front and back edges. JMVINTAGE specializes in Books, Magazines and Treasures related to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor....and other curious people...AND FAMOUS COURTESANS. Dust Jacket Reads:CHere, by the author uniquely equipped to write it, is a magnificent biography of Sarah Bernhardt, the tempestuous Frenchwoman many consider to be the greatest actress who ever lived. "Madame Sarah," as she was affectionately known to many intimate friends, fellow actors and countless numbers of admirers the world over, was born in Paris in 1844, the illegitimate daughter of a pretty milliner. Her childhood was not a happy one, for her health was dangerously frail and her mother had little time for her. But from the moment she stood before an astonished panel of leading dramatic artists and recited a fable by La Fontaine, she knew she must and would become an actress. It was the beginning of a long and glorious career, first in France's two national theatres, then again and again with her own companies in England and America - in theatres and private houses, on makeshift open-air stages, even under huge circus tents - and finally on innumerable and backbreaking grand world tours. It was a career that was to see her infuse brilliant fresh light into such classics as Racine's Phedre, make into her very own such contemporary dramas as Sardou's Tosca and Rostand's L'Aiglon, and star time and time again in perennial revivals of Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camelias. All of this Cornelia Otis Skinner chronicles, with an insider's knowledge of and love for the theatre. But she also tells us of the many other aspects of Bernhardt's life, aspects to which the great actress gave the same inexhaustible energy she brought to the stage: her selfless work in behalf of the wounded during the siege of Paris in 1870-1871 and her courageous trips to the Front in World War I; her love for the Belgian aristocrat who fathered her only child and her affairs with many men; her role as gracious though often capricious hostess to many of the great figures of her time; her sudden tantrums and occasional cruelties to intimates and strangers alike, episodes often followed by equally inexplicable displays of kindness and generosity. Madame Sarah, through her unique craft, sparkling showmanship arid vibrant personality was deservedly one of France's most beloved heroines at home and one of her most glorious ambassadors abroad. Madame Sarah, through its clear-eyed but warmly human, humorous and sympathetic treatment of its subject, can deservedly be called a perfect testimonial to her. Cornelia Otis Skinner is the ideal biographer for such a splendid subject as Sarah Bernhardt. As a greatly gifted actress and monologuist in her own right, she naturally has a special insight into the theatre. Moreover, she has long held a special place in her heart for Madame Sarah. A distinguished writer, Miss Skinner's other books include Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (with Emily Kimbrough), Bottoms Up, Family Circle, Nuts in May, The Ape in Me and her latest bestseller, Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals. Jacket poster by Alphonse Mucha The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Janos Scholz, 1960."
Edition: Book ClubBinding: Hard Back
Condition: Near Fine in Very Good DJ
Book Id: 17860
Price: $10.50
