Book Description
This new edition combines Tolstoy’s most famous short tale, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, with a less well known but equally brilliant gem, Master and Man, both newly translated by Ann Pasternak Slater. Both stories confront death and the process of dying: In Ivan Ilyich, a bureaucrat looks back over his life, which suddenly seems meaningless and wasteful, while in Master and Man, a landowner and servant must each confront the value of the other as they brave a devastating snowstorm. The quintessential Tolstoyan themes of mortality, spiritual redemption, and life’s meaning are nowhere more movingly and deftly explored than in these two tales.
This unique edition also includes a critical Introduction and extensive notes by Ann Pasternak Slater, a Fellow at St. Anne’s College, Oxford.
Download Description
This new edition combines Tolstoy's most famous short tale, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, with a less well known but equally brilliant gem, Master and Man, both newly translated by Ann Pasternak Slater.
Both stories confront death and the process of dying: In Ivan Ilyich, a bureaucrat looks back over his life, which suddenly seems meaningless and wasteful, while in Master and Man, a landowner and servant must each confront the value of the other as they brave a devastating snowstorm. The quintessential Tolstoyan themes of mortality, spiritual redemption, and life's meaning are nowhere more movingly and deftly explored than in these two tales.
This unique edition also includes a critical introduction and extensive notes by Ann Pasternak Slater, a Fellow at St. Anne's College, Oxford.
Customer Reviews:
Great short fiction.......2007-05-04
These are two of Tolstoy's best short novels, wonderfully translated, with an insightful introduction and biographical note. Both stories are masterpieces of craft -- fun to read, but with a strong moral center -- the way all good fiction should be. I had stayed away from Tolstoy for a long time, unwilling to tackle War & Peace or Anna Karenina, but these two short novels show his mastery of story and psychological insight, so this is a great place to start. I know I'll be reading more Tolstoy after this.
Average customer rating:
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Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Master and Man
Leo Tolstoy
Manufacturer: Hovel Audio
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Tolstoy: Father Sergius & Other Short Stories
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Stranger
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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
ASIN: 1596441682 |
Book Description
In these two famous short novels, Leo Tolstoy takes readers to the brink of despair. At the end of life worldly ambition offers no consolation for the spiritually empty soul. But Tolstoy is the master of themes of redemption. He turns his morbid topic into hope, leading towards spiritual awakening. Tolstoy offers his readers a lifetime of perspective on a most human subject, death. These two stories will offer encouragement to the spiritually hungry.
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Death Of Ivan Ilyich, The/Master And Man
Leo Tolstoy
Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
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Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0736638598 |
Book Description
In a world where strong enough talent can engender magic, the family of the Royal Cartographer stands in a unique position. For these bold relations not only draw the maps, but also explore uncharted territories, expanding and updating the existing knowledge about the world. Only sometimes, drawing a new land can be enough to bring it into being. And when tragedy strikes the family, the tormented dreams of one young woman feed back to the Royal Cartographer himself, sending him slowly mad. And maybe also creating a new land where those dreams have become a tangible reality...
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2007-03-08
I loved this book! I thought the charactorization was amazing and more improtant the history provided creates a rich and incredible world that left me hanging on for more. I loved the twists and turns in the plot and I expect those who love a complex story line will get much injoyment from reading this book. I must confess though the first few chapters where a little difficult to follow with maybe a few too many charactors introduced very quickly.
Same flaws.......2007-02-14
All of Stackpole's books suffer the same flaws: uneven, weak, unbalanced character development. He tells a great story but be prepared to have your loyalties and sympathies toyed with. I'm uncertain as to whether he does this by intent or whether it's just a flawed writing style, but all too frequently, Stackpole introduces a character in an intense and well-crafted scenario only to discard that character later on by killing him off or by relegating him to a minor position. All this, as I say, in spite of having written in such a way as to lead you to think the character was important and worthy of identifying with.
Lest I spoil this story, I will choose two characters from another series of his, the one beginning with the Dark Glory War. In that particular novel, he builds sympathy and identification for the key and central character even up to the very end only to make him quite secondary in the later novels. The reader's loyalty, a key feature that makes a book worth reading (that is, winning loyalty -- even negative loyalty -- is central to keeping the reader's interest) gets fragmented. He does the same thing with the villain's child: a huge and intriguing build-up with only the weakest, tangential resolution, creating loyalty and sympathy only to take that reader-commitment ... nowhere!
Bad style: it ends up fragmenting the reader's interest in the story line as a whole.
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Monty Python, Shakespeare and English Renaissance Drama
Darl Larsen
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
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ASIN: 0786415045 |
Book Description
At first consideration, it would seem that Shakespeare and Monty Python have very little in common other than that they're both English. Shakespeare wrote during the reign of a politically puissant Elizabeth, while Python flourished under an Elizabeth figurehead. Shakespeare wrote for rowdy theatre whereas Python toiled at a remove, for television. Shakespeare is The Bard; Python is-well-not.
Despite all of these differences, Shakespeare and Monty are in fact related; this work considers both the differences and similarities between the two. It discusses Shakespeare's status as England's National Poet and Python's similar elevation. It explores various aspects of theatricality (troupe configurations, casting and writing choices, allusions to classical literature) used by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Monty Python. It also covers the uses and abuses of history in Shakespeare and Python, humor, especially satire, in Shakespeare, Jonson, Dekker and Python, and the concept of the "Other" in Shakespearean and Pythonesque creations.
Book Description
A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy that Dropped from the Sky.
Life was grim in 1948 West Berlin, Germany. Josef Stalin blockaded all ground routes coming in and out of Berlin to cut off West Berliners from all food and essential supplies. Without outside help, over 2.2 million people would die.
Thus began the Berlin Airlift, a humanitarian rescue mission that utilized British and American airplanes and pilots to fly in needed supplies. As one of the American pilots participating in the Airlift mission, Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen helped to provide not only nourishment to the children but also gave them a reason to hope for a better world. From one thoughtful, generous act came a lifelong relationship between Lt. Gail and the children of Berlin.
This is the true story of a seven-year-old girl named Mercedes who lived in West Berlin during the Airlift and of the American who came to be known as the Chocolate Pilot.
Artist Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen's evocative paintings illuminate Margot Theis Raven's powerful story of hope, friendship and remembrance.
About the Author: Margot Theis Raven has been a professional writer working in the fields of radio, television, magazines, newspapers, and children's books for thirty years. She has won five national awards, including an IRA Teacher's Choice award. Ms. Raven earned her degree in English from Rosemont College and attended Villanova University for theater study, and Kent State University for German language. Ms. Raven splits her time living in Concord, MA, Charleston, SC and West Chesterfield, NH.
About the Illustrator: Born in the Netherlands, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Holland. He immigrated to the United States in 1976, and years later he became a children's book illustrator. Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot is Nick's ninth children's book with Sleeping Bear Press.
Customer Reviews:
Great Addition to your Library.......2007-09-09
We loved this book. We read it last year while studying about Germany. We loved it so much we bought it ourselves. Beautiful true story about how even in the hardships of war, blessing happen. The kids and I even cried a little as we read this one. Just a great read with great illustrations as well.
A Gem of a Book!.......2007-06-08
Some years ago, I "dragged" my wife and son to meet the Candy Bomber when he came through town. He gave a really nice speech in which he told the story of Mercedes. Amazingly, I had finally found a pilot who hit a sweet note with them. A year or two later, they even went to meet him again, and my son caught candy he dropped at the airport. Well, when the book came out, my wife latched onto it in an instant. She was so taken with the book and the retelling of the story of Mercedes, that she has incorporated it into her class room. Super nice man and touching story. The author did a splendid job that does both justice. You'll enjoy this one!
Beautiful and moving.......2007-05-27
A lovely story of a little-known episode in post-World War II Europe, the Berlin Airlift, and the American pilot who knew that for children, chocolates and sweets were almost more important than the basic supplies the Airlift was providing the citizens of West Berlin, so he sent those along with the rest of his cargo, and in doing so, gave them hope.
Margot Theis Raven movingly depicts an important time in history and the gallantry and heart of the man who `rained down sweets' on a city that needed it. A wonderful read with fascinating historical information that kids and adults will enjoy.
Bravo, Ms. Raven!
Kind, heroic American soldier grants German child's wish.......2003-04-08
This true story of hope, kindness and heroism is a reminder that there are American soldiers who have provided a variety of rescues for people in other countries, a reminder that every child is important, a reminder that one caring person can change the world. There's even a subtle message of the power of prayer. The illustrations are as beautiful, sweet, and historically accurate as the story itself. The heart-warming text gives children a true living American hero to emulate in the Chocolate Pilot and a child to relate to in Mercedes. Grown-ups love this book as much as children do.
The Impact of Adults in the Life of a Child........2003-01-15
"Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot: A True Story of the Berlin "Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot": This is a true Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy That Dropped from the Sky by Margot Theis Raven, Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen" demonstrates the true meaning of the human sprit and the impact of that sprit upon generation after generation. While I was reading this story I was reminded of a saying which emphasizes how truly important our roles, as adults, are in the lives of children, ...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." This true story is truly remarkable and a must to share with adults and children.
Amazon.com
The Coes, both anthropologists with a culinary bent, delve deeply into the history of their mouth-watering subject. The material on ancient cultures is particularly fascinating--did you know that the Maya used unsweetened liquid chocolate as currency? And in a chapter called "Chocolate for the Masses," they detail the modernization of chocolate manufacture, which has allowed more than 25 million Hershey's Kisses to roll off the conveyor belt each day.
Book Description
Theobromo caco . . . chocolate . . . "the food of the gods." Delicious indulgence or cause of migraines? Aphrodisiac or medicinal tonic? Religious symbol or Mesoamerican currency? This delightful tale of one of the world's favorite foods draws upon botany, archaeology, socio-economics, and culinary history to present a complete and accurate history of chocolate. The story begins some three thousand years ago in the jungles of lowland Mexico and Central America with the tree Theobroma cacao and the complex processes necessary to transform its bitter seeds into what is now known as chocolate. This was centuries before chocolate was consumed in generally unsweetened liquid form and used as currency by the sophisticated Maya, and the Aztecs after them. The Spanish conquest of Central America introduced chocolate to Europe, where it became first the stimulating drink of kings and aristocrats and then was popularized in coffeehouses. Industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made chocolate a food for the masses--until its revival in our own time as a luxury item. The True History of Chocolate is the first book to present the real facts of the pre-Spanish history of chocolate--and it does so with great authority, since the authors share an unrivaled knowledge of the history of pre-Columbian civilizations and their cuisine. We discover how chocolate got its name and how it was used as a medicine, and we find that the Spanish learned of chocolate through the Maya, not the Aztecs. From Maya hieroglyphs to the kingdom of the Hershey Bar, this is a fascinating history, beautifully told, and enhanced with quotations, illustrations, and old recipes--a book for chocolate-lovers everywhere. 97 illustrations, 13 in color.
Customer Reviews:
A Delectable Treat........2007-08-09
The history of chocolate has never been so wonderful woven like it is in this book. This uncomplicated book traces the cacao story back to its origin with the Olmec, Maya, and Aztecs, and from there it migrates to Europe and taking the noble courts by storm. The book goes beyond just the basic history, it lists in details how chocolate is manufactured, prepared and consumed since the beginning of time to the modern age. There isn't a part of chocolate the Coes don't cover. Unfortunately, this book focuses too much on the ancient history of chocolate with special attention to the three ancient Mesoamerican civilizations and then European consumption in the 16-19th century. The last chapter speaks briefly, too briefly, on the modern history of chocolate in the 20th century. The authors do not cover the modern chocolate trade, its environmental impact, what it's mean for million of people, or what are the modern significances of chocolate. The story basically stops at Hershey and his factory in Pennsylvania. The epilogue asks the readers to be conscious in buying fair-trade chocolate, but other than that, there isn't a modern history of chocolate in this book. Overall, however, this is a well written and heavily researched book that dispels many misconceptions and provides a clearer understand of this dark mistress to our taste bud.
Awesome Story.......2006-02-16
Story book style of delivery made this book enjoyable for the entire family. This book was packed full of information yet the manner in which it is written made it enjoyable to read as well as retain. Very informative and interesting as well as fun.
Delightful Reading!.......2004-08-25
This book was an extremely readable examination of the history of chocolate, starting with the ancient MesoAmericans and ending with contemporary European and American chocolate makers. Anyone interested in the history and development of their favorite confection or beverage should read this book - it's written engagingly in the first half, and then peters out just a tad towards the end. I wished for more about the modern chocolate industry, and a little more about the current manufacturing spike in fine chocolates. But as an anthropological study revolving around the development of chocolate, I could ask for nothing more. Coe and Coe have inspired a chocolate tasting party and an academic interest in a gastrologic subject.
Engaging: Academic yet Readable.......2003-08-28
This book went beyond my expectations by presenting the history of chocolate in an unbiased, academic yet readable format. A far cry from high school history textbooks, the authors enchant the reader with stories and historical tid-bits while maintaining a cohesive whole. I definitely recommend this book to chocolate connoisseurs, history-buffs, and chocoholics alike.
Delightful account of cacoa history.......2003-06-25
Sophie and Michael Coe have written a emminently readable history of chocolate. They emphasize the origins of cacoa in the New World, and the Spanish conquerors' response to their "discovery" of cacoa. The story fascinates, and I liked how the authors presented all the options when historical records were scarce or contradictory. The text is interspersed with clarifying illustrations, some are in color. The 19th and 20th centuries are covered in brief. The book ends with the resurgence in deluxe chocolates that use the rarer yet better tasting cacoa beans, and explains why these chocolates are so much better tasting than the supermarket candy bar. All in all, an excellent read.
Book Description
The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family in the making and the
wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.
Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewelry. Obedience school did no good—Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilizers the veterinarian prescribed for him with the admonishment, "Don't hesitate to use these."
And yet Marley's heart was pure. Just as he joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple's joy at their first pregnancy, and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Marley shut down a public beach and managed to land a role in a feature-length movie, always winning hearts as he made a mess of things. Through it all, he remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.
Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.
Download Description
"
The heartwarming and unforgettable
story of a family in the making and the
wondrously neurotic dog who taught
them what really matters in life
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.
Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewelry. Obedience school did no good—Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilizers the veterinarian prescribed for him with the admonishment, ""Don't hesitate to use these.""
And yet Marley's heart was pure. Just as he joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple's joy at their first pregnancy, and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Marley shut down a public beach and managed to land a role in a feature-length movie, always winning hearts as he made a mess of things. Through it all, he remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.
Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.
"
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Edition of Marley and Me.......2007-10-11
I bought this edition of 'Marley and Me' to see the extra photographs of Marley and also for John Grogan's newspaper column he wrote after Marley died. I highly recommend this edition to everyone, it truly is a treasure.
An incredible tale.......2007-10-05
This book was wonderful - ignore the one star reviews, seriously. It was never intended to be an intellectual story with an incredible plot (or twist), and it certainly wasn't meant to make one feel angry at the author as you read it.
If you can open your mind (and heart), and read this book as a simple tale of such a basic relationship between dog and owner(s), you will be rewarded with such a funny, warm, heart-wrenching, inspiring tale that could well make you a better person.
I ENJOYED the moments of self-indulgence - where we got an understanding about who John was and what was going on in HIS life. I think the book needed that to avoid being entirely about a dog and his experiences - let's face it, no matter how great Marley is (or isn't), he wasn't going to warrant 200 pages of text (or was he?). It's this discussion of family, of growing up, of happiness and anger, that draws so many parallels between the life of a human being, and the life of a dog. It is summarized so brilliantly towards the end of the book and, as you wipe away the tears, you can only feel an incredible sense of optimism and hope well after you turn the last page.
Predictable ending? Well duh. You do know where it's going from the moment you purchase the book - from the moment you purchase a DOG. But HOW Grogan gets there is brilliantly done. His writing style is well-paced, conversational, yet entirely descriptive. I felt the warmth of the South Florida sun as I watched Marley play in the ocean, and I felt everyones shivers in the grey, cold winter in PA. Ultimately, I felt the utter sadness that an entirely family felt, and the power of reminiscence & focusing on those special moments in life.
Here's to you, Grogan. Your book touched my heart; and to Marley - your existence has touched millions of people around the world without you even knowing it. If that's not a successful book, I'm not quite sure what is.
How fast the time goes with Crazy Pups.......2007-10-03
I just finished Marley & Me.
The Best read I have had in a long time. It was like watching a GREAT movie, only better. I have loved and lost 1 best friend recently and the other best friend is now over 10 years....this book makes you think...remember.... and thank the heavens for allowing them to be here with us for their period of time reminding us that we are "only Human".
I loved the book and have 6 people in line to borrow it now that I am finished.
If you like to laugh, love dogs and appreciate terrific writing, buy or borrow this book!
A+ Marley will be with me forever.
Beautiful! Touching!.......2007-09-29
John Grogan brings a great deal of heart to Marley's story. It reminds one of how precious pets can be and how these little ones share so much with us as life goes on.
It's a beautiful, touching, and vivid story, and you'll just fall in love with it.
Thanks, John, for sharing such a great tale :-)
a wonderful story.......2007-09-25
You will laugh and cry. A great story for anyone who has ever loved a dog.
Product Description
Number one on the New York Times best-seller list, this hilarious, yet touching memoir of life and love with the worlds worst dog by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Grogan appeals to everyone. Marleys unruly behavior, fierce loyalty, exuberance for life, and unconditional love leave a lasting impression on everyone. He may not be perfecthes kicked out of obedience schoolyet hes always there for John and his blossoming family. Whatever the end result, Marleys intentions, and the lessons he teaches, are pure.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent work on the history of toys
- Not so scholarly
- Not so scholarly and a bit disappointing
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Toys With Nine Lives: A Social History of American Toys
Andrew McClary
Manufacturer: Linnet Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0208023860 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent work on the history of toys .......2006-04-17
While serious toy collectors may wish for more detail on the individual toys themselves, the book is nonetheless a well crafted look at the social history of toys. The book allows the reader to reflect on the important role that toys have played throughout history. Everyone has at some point played and owned toys of some sort, but how many of us have ever stopped to think about the social constructions of the toys themselves? Well researched and interesting throughout, McClary's book presents the reader with the opportunity to examine the social influences that impacted the toys loved by our parents, our kids and even ourselves.
Not so scholarly.......1997-11-05
I found the book to lack a great deal in scholarship. Toys which were illustrated were often not identified by name or manufacturer where such are well known. It is the manufactured toys that are of greatest interest to collectors. The American heyday of toys starts after the Civil War and continues to WWII. European toys enjoy their greatest success during the same time period although automata were made much earlier. Japanese toys gain their popularity after WWII. The book falls outside of the main stream as far as serious toy collectors are concerned. Tops and stick toys have their place but do not compare with the wonderful cast iron toys made in the US by Hubley, Stevens or Gong Bell or the celebration of tin toys of Germany made by Lehmann or Gunthermann to name just a few of the toy manufacturers.
Not so scholarly and a bit disappointing.......1997-09-18
The book turns out to be less than the scholarly tome I was expecting. This is due much to the fact that the footnote references while numbered are missing. It is also difficult to determine which references are relevant to what is being talked about.
Major toy manufacturers are not identified for mass produced toys and their names are not given. As an example take the "Landing of Columbus" mechanical bank. It is called the Columbus bank and the manufacturer is not given.
These oversights are serious enough to greatly diminish the works value for the serious and advanced collector.
Book Description
Addresses and telephone numbers are provided for hundreds of contacts, complemented by easy-to-read commentary and special interviews.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent!.......2001-02-19
I loved this book... full of new ideas... so many resources I never would have thought of! I recommend it to anyone who would like to sell their artwork or crafts and doesn't know where to start. Not intended as a comprehensive review of ALL possible markets or marketing helps, the book provides more than fifty different avenues of selling your work to explore, provides contact information and advice on how to approach different marketing tasks. Lots of help!
Assumes too much.......1998-08-24
Very selective in what's included and what's not. There are certainly many trade journals out there, yet only THE CRAFTS REPORT is reviewed. There are a lot of areas left up to the reader to research, and some overly simplistic summaries.
Average customer rating:
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The Book of Proverbs and Arabic Proverbial Works (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum)
Riad Aziz Kassis
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9004113053 |
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent view of a supreme artist.......2000-10-01
The spirit of Eleonora Duse fills this excellent little book. Eva Le Gallienne, a master in her own right, clearly loves Duse, and she unapologetically deifies her. Weaving together histories, analyses, personal recollections, quotes, reviews, and theological musings, Le Gallienne creates a vivid image of the woman, and made me mourn that I could not see her myself. She even addresses that, responding to a young actor with the same complaint (with pity). But I did feel, after reading the book, that I had connected with Duse in some small way; In this, Le Gallienne is an actor on the page, guiding her audience to the character without forcing it upon them.
The message I got was that Duse was a person first. Other actors are full of life when on the stage, and switch off once the curtain falls. For Duse, theatre was an extension of her life. Her craft (so strong that she seemed to have none) and her spirit filled the stage, but no more than it filled her life.
I recommend this book to all actors- this book was written with us in mind- but also to all artists. It is one-sided, yes, but it is not meant to be an objective account. It shows some of Duse's flaws, but tone is always one of love.
Book Description
A new biography, the first in two decades, of the legendary actress who inspired Anton Chekhov, popularized Henrik Ibsen, and spurred Stanislavski to create a new theory of acting based on her art and to invoke her name at every rehearsal.
Writers loved her and wrote plays for her. She be-friended Rainer Maria Rilke and inspired the young James Joyce, who kept a portrait of her on his desk. Her greatest love, the poet d’Annunzio, made her the heroine of his novel Il fuoco (The Flame). She radically changed the art of acting: in a duel between the past and the future, she vanquished her rival, Sarah Bernhardt. Chekhov said of her, “I’ve never seen anything like it. Looking at Duse, I realized why the Russian theatre is such a bore.” Charlie Chaplin called her “the finest thing I have seen on the stage.” Gloria Swanson and Lillian Gish watched her perform with adoring attention, John Barrymore with awe. Shaw said she “touches you straight on the very heart.”
When asked about her acting, Duse responded that, quite simply, it came from life. Except for one short film, Duse’s art has been lost. Despite dozens of books about her, her story is muffled by legend and myth. The sentimental image that prevails is of a misty, tragic heroine victimized by men, by life; an artist of unearthly purity, without ambition.
Now Helen Sheehy, author of the much admired biography of Eva Le Gallienne, gives us a different Duse—a woman of strength and resolve, a woman who knew pain but could also inflict it. “Life is hard,” she said, “one must wound or be wounded.” She wanted to reveal on the stage the truth about women’s lives and she wanted her art to endure.
Drawing on newly discovered material, including Duse’s own memoir, and unpublished letters and notes, Sheehy brings us to an understanding of the great actress’s unique ways of working: Duse acting out of her sense of her character’s inner life, Duse anticipating the bold aspects of modernism and performing with a sexual freedom that shocked and thrilled audiences. She edited her characters’ lines to bare skeletons, asked for the simplest sets and costumes. Where other actresses used hysterics onstage, Duse used stillness.
Sheehy writes about the Duse that the actress herself tried to hide—tracing her life from her childhood as a performing member of a family of actors touring their repertory of drama and commedia dell’arte through Italy. We follow her through her twenties and through the next four decades of commissioning and directing plays, running her own company, and illuminating a series of great roles that included Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, Marguerite in Dumas’s La Dame aux camélias, Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Hedda in his Hedda Gabler. When she thought her beauty was fading at fifty-one, she gave up the stage, only to return to the theatre in her early sixties; she traveled to America and enchanted audiences across the country. She died as she was born—on tour.
Sheehy’s illuminating book brings us as close as we have ever been to the woman and the artist.
Customer Reviews:
An actress beyond compare.......2004-06-22
The difficulty of describing delicacy in acting is one that Helen Sheehy has not entirely overcome, but otherwise she seems to have read and swallowed everything written about the great Duse and here, in this big Knopf biography (a genre all its own) she arranges the facts in that big sumptuous Knopf manner, with creamy photographs and the touch of class big book buyers love. Basically a conservative book, this book leads us to believe that no one of today is fit to tie Duse's shoes.
Sometimes Duse was foolish about men and about writing, and according to the standards of the day she was a bad mother, but other than that, she was sublime in every way. Sheehy claims that her appeal was a plastic one, that her rich warm smile illuminated her face, and took away the slightly doughy and overdone shadows her photos cast in composure. She loved to walk, to relieve stress, and she made one half-hour motion picture, back in the days before exhibitors' demands froze the motion picture into being more or less ninety minutes long. Sheehy says it's great, but by this time, the reader isn't sure whether or not to believe her, because everything is so superlative the tone is pitched too high.
Unsatisfyingly distant.......2004-04-12
I've been a fan of the many theatre books published in recent years by Knopf under the astute editorship of Victoria Wilson and other editors at Knopf. This is not one of their more compelling. Even allowing for the absence of living witness interviewees still available for biographers of, say, the Lunts, I persistently sensed the writer of this book coalescing her picture of Duse from a psychological "mezzanine," rather than "front row," perspective. It is a strangely cold, unhumanized retelling of a striking human being that was anything but. Sheehy is either too awed and respectful of Duse, too afraid of the pitfalls of the so-called pathobiography, or just too uninsightful to bring Duse to life as a three-dimensional personality. She settles for a textbook writer's air of intimate remove, of calculated decorous unfamiliarity with the personality, rather than a biographer's symbiotic fusion that makes the reader feel emotionally with the biographee, whether the biographee's character is admirable or disreputable. Her quotation of Charles Chaplin describing a performance of Duse is in a few paragraphs a far clearer evocation of what specifically and technically made Duse compelling as an actor than anything Sheehy writes of Duse anywhere else in her book. The testimonials she recites of Lee Strasberg, Chekhov, et al. are offered as thirdhand hearsay, generalities to be taken on faith rather than evoking for the reader a clear, singular picture like Chaplin's. The book also reads somewhat desultorily and does not endow Duse's life with a sense of driving drama-- quite a shortcoming for a book about such a great actor. I started to read this book with great expectations and hopes and finally abandoned it more in disappointment than in anger, just wishing it had been better.
A dove in flight.......2003-12-27
My interest in the art of Eleonora Duse grew urgently while I studied the theater of Gabriele D'Annunzio. Strangely Duse's legend had not done more than tantalyze me hitherto. Vague photographs in sepia written words in passing had so far only configured a distant actress that was oddly lackluster. My fascination had remained with the likes of Adrienne Lecouvreur and with Rachel long dead players at the Comedie Francaise. I had lusted for Andromaque and Athalie living feverish candlelit nights among Corneille Moliere and Racine. I had imagined attending one of Sarah's histrionic performances. It was while I read 'La Citta Morta' and 'Francesca da Rimini' that D'Annunzio made me glance closer at the great Duse, shy and transparent with her understated genius for acting. Unhurriedly this seemingly intangible donna assoluta was letting me know that Eleonora Duse was no theatrical bandwagon. She now haunted me a fascinating dove in flight. Her's she claims with a grin, is not the boom enchantment one orders with a Byzantine impetuosity the enraptured hand to the brow. Or the hot stage tear that streaks the bright rouged cheek. That in a scene all Duse is willing to offer is a sigh. Her signature is a beguiling penchant to vanish. This biographical account by Helen Sheehy is like her masterful biography of Eva LeGallienne, a triumph. Both biographies are the product of an inspired and consummate writer. Please look up her life story of LeGallienne if you want quality. Other sources are 'Duse' by William Weaver and 'The Mystic in the Theatre' by Eva LeGallienne herself a great actress and writer. Eleonora wants to say that her's and her's alone is the thespian refinement you invoke with a glance and the faintest of tragic smiles. Many believe Duse to be the parent of modern acting. Both Sheehy and LeGallienne narrate how Eleonora started in the theater from the smallest age, playing with her family of itinerant actors. Duse's was a ragged and browbeaten Commedia dell'Arte peddling town to town in late nineteenth century Italy. I believe poverty and this early perambulating scarred her. There were times when Eleonora watched local urchins tormenting her father, who was neither talented nor enterprising. Her first liaison was with Arrigo Boito who along with Verdi wrote for the opera. They had a daughter. Then soon appeared Gabriele D'Annunzio a genial master of words who enraptured Eleonora with his exquisite theater. Perhaps he loved La Duse he clearly benefitted from her for by the time their convoluted idyll paled she was the most discussed actress in Europe. The philandering playwright and the sublime actress were now both monstruously famous. Sheehy narrates brilliantly her support and torment for Gabriele, as well as her theatrical conquest of America. How lucky are we cinematography captures today in perpetuity the inspirations of our gifted actresses. Locked in a box for all to watch. How sad that time a beast has gobbled up the classical performances of the great Rachel and the incomparable theater of Eleonora Duse. The Italian actress who wore neither makeup nor camellias while portraying Dumas fils. The humble woman who inspired Chekhov and resurrected Ibsen. The one who showed Stanislavski what acting should be. All those theater nights are lost. But if you hold your breath and close your eyes you can see her. How easy it is to imagine Elenora on stage, betrayed and broken as Silvia Setalla in D'Annunzio's 'La Gioconda' Eleonora so evocative in 'La Femme de Claude' droll pert sinewy as Mirandolina in Goldoni's comic 'La Locandiera'. Duse, playing her beloved Ibsen in 'A Doll's House' and 'Hedda Gabler'. Later, an ecclectic and transcendent Eleonora as if transformed by the ocean in 'The Lady from the Sea' Go ahead, go on, you can do it, she'll again appear magically within your mind. Take a deep breath close your eyes and you'll soon find her, fey deft doomed wistful unforgettable, a devastating Marguerite in 'La Dame aux Camellias' a darting cloud in chiffon. Amid applause triumphing and shining, among tremedous curtain calls glowing, so evoking every French romantic nuance as she takes many bows. Regaling a teary audience with tragic glimpses and she gives up Armand. So naturally sketching every enchantment emoting every painful heartbeat. After Isadora Duncan's children died in Paris the dancer went about Europe desperately, hearing words of sympathy urges to be strong. Then she went to stay with Eleonora in her villa in the vicinity of Viareggio. By then Duse was semi-retired notorious for her books and a penchant for solitude. Cry cry, Duse told her, I'll sit by you in silence and won't interrupt your tears. I find this Helen Sheehy's biography, as well as Eva LeGallienne's account of the Duse she knew personally, the best informed and most sensitive protrayals of this unique woman.
The Mother of Modern Acting.......2003-09-22
Lee Strasberg, Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw, and dozens if not hundreds of others who had the privilege of seeing Duse on stage describe it as if they saw a saint, someone supernatural in her ability to convey thought, feeling, emotion, subtext and that extra something that's finally indescribable. The name Duse has been synonymous with the highest possible attainment in acting, even though she is little known outside the theater. Helen Sheehy has written a detailed, even scholarly biography that stands head and shoulders over the other previous bio in English, by William Weaver. Sheehy succeeds, as far as one can, at analyzing and dissecting otherworldly Genius. But the excellence of Sheehy's book also makes it an unbearable tease. Duse was a stage actress. No traces of her greatness remain, save one thirty minute film that is maddeningly difficult to obtain; for some reason, showings of the film are as rare as UFO sightings. In my mind the film has attained the status of a relic. And I've yet to see it. Frustration aside, Sheehy does much to unveil the very private views of her subject on art and life. I certainly wouldn't recommend this bio to anyone with only a casual interest in acting or theater; however, for anyone with a substantial interest in dramatic art, this bio is simply a must.
Insightful, artful biography of the mother of modern acting.......2003-09-08
As the New York Times has called this an "exemplary biography", there seems little reason to add a review by the average reader. However, you do not need to be an expert in theatre history to find this book a great read.
I had never heard of Duse before Sheehy's work, yet the author makes a convincing argument why the Italian actress is one of the founders of modern acting - a woman who presented a powerful, natural style of acting that George Bernard Shaw, Charlie Chapin, and John Barrymore found overwhelming to behold. Duse created a compelling counterpoint to the highly stylized form perfected by Sarah Bernhardt and she presented a standard of a new acting for all performers in the twentieth century to emulate. Today, we are unaware as we watch film or television, that we are watching Duse's heirs.
Sheehy goes beyond her central thesis of Duse's acting career to describe a very flawed woman. Sheehy enumerates Duse's poor choices in lovers, her neglect of her daughter because of the girl's physical resemblance to Duse's discarded husband, her indulgence in self-pity and hypochondria, and her manipulative use of society friends for favors and loans. Sheehy does not shy away from her hero's defects, but neither does she wallow in them.
This book is of obvious value to people of the theatre or with special interest in Italian culture. For the general reader, it is an artful biography of a compelling and important cultural figure.
Average customer rating:
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Duse: A Biography
William Weaver
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