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ROBERT GRAVES

LIFE ON THE EDGE

A competent but unimaginative life of the bardic English classicist, novelist, and poet. ``I could fall in love with my big toe if I wanted to,'' declared the contradictory Graves (18951985), notorious puritan and inveterate womanizer who held court for years at his home on the Spanish island of Majorca and is best known for his meditations on woman as muse in The White Goddess (1948), et al. Seymour, a novelist and biographer (Ottoline Morrell, 1993, etc.), chronicles the long-lived writer's conquests and his literary achievements with scruple and without sensationalism. The most fascinating of the tales in her account is his long extramarital involvement, during a protracted lull in his first marriage to Nancy Nicholson, with the American poet Laura Riding. Though Seymour conscientiously refrains from overplaying Riding's significance, the woman takes over the book by sheer force of her oddity, ambition, and passion. (The bizarre story of Riding's suicide attempt and recovery are sufficient to inspire a stranger-than-usual Hal Hartley movie.) Graves himself could have benefited, though, from further inspection. His literary and social iconoclasm (he deplored the accomplishments of nearly all his poet peers; his socks, rarely worn, never matched) seem ultimately too charming here. And Seymour's psychologizing is more conventional than convincing. (Yes, Graves suffered under the excesses of a tyrannically virtuous Victorian mother, but didn't most of his generation? Why was his fate singular?) Additional detail about his WW I experiences would have been helpful since their influence was decisive, destructive, and long-lasting. But Seymour dutifully sorts through reams of gossip for their ounce of fact and soundly assesses Graves's work along with his romantic indiscretions. At a time when the biographical form is inspiring much-needed experimentation, Seymour's straightforward approach seems old- fashioned, although sturdy. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-8050-3055-7

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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