English literary biographer Glendinning (Rebecca West, 1987, etc.) claims here that she has ``never been so happy researching and writing any book''—a pleasure she conveys to the reader in this first life of Trollope by a woman, and first popular biography of the recent, primarily scholarly, Trollope revival (e.g., N. John Hall's Trollope, 1991—not reviewed). The chasm between Trollope's life and art—between the bluff, vulgar, tactless civil servant and the elegant novels depicting aristocratic life and manners—is the major problem for Trollope biographers. Hall claimed that the social persona was as much an invention as the literary one, leaving the real Trollope yet to be discovered. Glendinning approaches the problem by emphasizing ``family dynamics,'' with Trollope cultivating an array of voices to cope with the demands of his domestic life, including a dominating and unnurturing mother (a prolific writer herself from whom Trollope acquired his herculean habits of composition); a hapless father; sickly sisters, sons, and nieces; a brother for whom Glendinning confesses her hostility; Trollope's nearly invisible wife, Rose, who privately had an enormous influence on him; and the many modern assertive women whom Trollope met but didn't know how to deal with. Glendinning concludes that Trollope is both the man and his art: a chameleon capable of many moods and voices, his novels reflecting and influencing the political and sexual lives of his contemporaries—politicians, writers, country gentry—with whom he associated. The author is particularly strong on the trivia that comprised the style of Trollope's life: clothes, digestion, holidays, dancing, flirting, gardens, illness, male friendship—all of which are copiously illustrated from Trollope's own prose. For those who read Trollope for pleasure or from curiosity, in comfortable chairs without taking notes. (Fifty photographs.)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-394-58268-3
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1992
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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