bookshelf

VAMP

Name: VAMP
Author: Eve Golden
ISBN: 1-887322-00-0

THE RISE AND FALL OF THEDA BARA

by Eve Golden ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1996

bookshelf

Golden, author of a well-received bio of Jean Harlow (Platinum Girl, 1991), inaugurates this new imprint with a trip even farther back into film history to examine the career of silent sex goddess Theda Bara. Bara made 41 films in the difficult transitional period between the rise of the motion picture as the handmade product of a cottage industry and the advent of factory-style moviemaking. Bara was, to her eternal regret, known for one thing and one thing only—she was the ``vampire'' woman who drove men to destruction. Although that label would make her one of the first great film stars (and, as Golden astutely observes, the first one who was largely created by publicity machinery), it dogged her whenever she attempted to break from the mold. Bara was born Theodosia Goodman, a nice Jewish girl from Cincinnati who had a yen to go on the stage. After some success in amateur theatricals, she dropped out of the University of Cincinnati to attempt a career on Broadway. She fell into movies almost by accident but soared to instant stardom in A Fool There Was. In order to capitalize on her dark, East European good looks, the Fox studio flacks refashioned her as a half-Egyptian, half-French femme fatale, complete with fake jewels, animal skins, and a hilariously elaborate pedigree. Golden retells this tale with obvious relish, and it is one that hasn't really been told before, as this is the first full-length bio of Bara. Regrettably, most of her films have not survived the nearly 80 years since their original release, so much of Golden's book is taken up with cautious recountings based on contemporary reviews. Worse, her prose is leaden and clichÇ-riddled. The author does make an effort to situate Bara in her historical context, but too often she settles for a superficial rehashing of film history commonplaces. (124 b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996

ISBN: 1-887322-00-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

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

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

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.