DEAR SARAH BERNHARDT

by Francoise Sagan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 14, 1988

Fascinated by the life and personality of Sarah Bernhardt, and, her publisher tells us, uninterested in a traditional biography, Sagan (Bonjour Tristesse; With Fondest Regards, 1985; etc.) has written instead an imaginary correspondence with the divine Sarah, now over 60 years in her grave. Sagan has done her research, and as long as she sticks to the facts--Bernhardt's childhood in a convent school, her troubled reunion in adolescence with her courtesan mother, her discovery of her theatrical gifts, and the triumphs of her phenomenal career--she succeeds in tracing the trajectory of her subject's life. But Sagan is a hopeless fan, dazzled by Bernhardt's numerous private conquests as well as her public acclaim. She gushes to Bernhardt in an early letter that no woman in history ""was more adored than you. . .openly adored in all the splendor and gaiety of her glory."" The premise of this correspondence is weak to start with, and it collapses when the two begin agreeing that they are really very much alike, that they share the same values, the same weaknesses, that they have a rare understanding of each other. The book's device needs a light touch, and time and again Sagan's self-indulgence destroys the credulity of the most sympathetic reader. Sagan's genuine admiration for Bernhardt can at times bring the haughty, heedless, and flamboyant actress vividly to life. But a reader's enthusiasm would have to equal Sagan's in order to overlook the romantic and sentimental excesses here.

Pub Date: July 14, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION