Being Divine: A Biography Of Sarah Bernhardt

Secker & Warburg, London, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover (Original Cloth). Near Fine Condition/Near Fine. beige end-papers; Sarah Bernhardt - la divine, la grande Sarah - achieved a pinnacle of fame unprecedented in an age before film and television. Every aspect of her extraordinary life was reported in obsessive detail: her penchant for sculpting in a white silk Worth pyjama suit; her whim to have a tiger's tail grafted to the base of her spine (she was mercifully talked out of it); her ever-changing lovers; the coffin in which she reputedly slept and the number and veracity of her death scenes. Unfashionably thin, with clouds of blonde hair and long slanting eyes, Sarah possessed a golden voice, a determination to succeed which was almost frightening in its intensity, and the ability to convince everyone that she was the most beautiful and the most fascinating woman in the world. Sarah embarked on her acting career almost by accident, but she threw herself body and soul into her work with a seemingly inexhaustible energy, which even the amputation of her leg and the encroachment of what in others would be termed old age failed to diminish. Unlike the stars of recent years, Sarah did not have nervous breakdowns (although she was notorious, during her early years, for being 'difficult'), she did not become addicted to drugs or alcohol, she did not commit suicide or succumb to consumption - and she did not retire. Like many, Sarah sought fame, but she, perhaps uniquely, thrived on the rigours which accompany it. What were her secrets? In this unusual examination of Sarah Bernhardt's life, Ruth Brandon searches behind the well-known, very public persona of this fabulous woman to discover precisely what it was in her background, upbringing and personality that made her the phenomenon that she undoubtedly was. The result is a book which is at once wittily informative, unerringly perceptive and thoroughly entertaining. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. xiii + 466. Dust Jacket un-clipped. Gilt titles spine. brown cloth; illustrated by b/w. photo's. & drawings. Includes notes, bibliography & index. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Biography & Autobiography; Theatre & Plays. ISBN: 0436199955. ISBN/EAN: 9780436199950. Inventory No: 4672. . 9780436199950