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GUINEVERE

Name: GUINEVERE
Author: Norma Lorre Goodrich
ISBN: 0-06-016442-5

by Norma Lorre Goodrich ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 1991

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Having masterfully re-created the major characters and events of Arthurian romance in King Arthur (1986) and Merlin (1987), Goodrich brings her scholarly skills, her prodigious knowledge of sixth-century Britain, and her impassioned style to vindicate Guinevere and rescue her from the obscurities of time. This Guinevere is a collective identity derived from history, legend, myth, literature, and scholarly debate. Slipping often from fact to faith, Goodrich claims that Arthur married Guinevere for her dowry, the Eastern Highlands of Scotland including ``Camelot'' and an estate called ``the Round Table.'' Under matriarchal law, this land became Arthur's as soon as the marriage was consummated, placing Guinevere, like all young brides under this law, in great danger. Guinevere was afflicted as well with a sister also called ``Guinevere,'' possibly a twin. Attempting to replace the true Guinevere in Arthur's bed, the sister subjected the queen to various abductions, temptations, and accusations. According to Goodrich, poor Guinevere won the protection of Lancelot, supposedly her younger brother; and, as Druid priestess, she assisted him in his initiation rites by visiting the Underworld. He became known as her lover, Goodrich says, when several hundred years after their death around 542, someone mistranslated the word ``alter'' for ``bed.'' Erudite but not scholarly and lacking rigor in organization and argument. And while she depends on legend herself, with gratuitous sarcasm Goodrich accuses scholars who reject the historical validity of Arthurian romances of merely trying to protect their tenure. Still, fascinating reading, great detective work, and of considerable interest in the history of feminism. (Fifteen b&w photographs and drawings.)

Pub Date: June 5, 1991

ISBN: 0-06-016442-5

Page Count: 272

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
HEROINES
by Norma Lorre Goodrich

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HOLY GRAIL
by Norma Lorre Goodrich

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.