The Lives of the Muses: Nine women and the artists they inspired

Description

The Lives of the Muses demolishes the feminist stereotype of the muse as a passive beauty put on a pedestal and oppressed by a male artist. What do the nine muses chosen by Francine Prose have in common They were all beautiful, or sexy, or gifted with some more unconventional appeal. All loved, and were loved by their artists, and inspired them with an intensity of emotion akin to Eros. For these artists, the love of-or for-their muses provided an element essential for the melding of talent and technique necessary to create art. This book explores the lives of Alice Liddell who inspired Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, the imperious Gala Dali, the talented photographer Lee Miller, the ballerina Suzanne Farrell, among others.

Francine Prose is the author of twenty-one works of fiction including, most recently, the highly acclaimed novel, MISTER MONKEY, and the New York Times bestselling novel, LOVERS AT THE CHAMELEON CLUB, PARIS 1932. Her novel A CHANGED MAN won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and BLUE ANGEL was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her works of nonfiction include the highly praised ANNE FRANK: THE BOOK, THE LIFE, THE AFTERLIFE, and the New York Times bestseller READING LIKE A WRITER, which has become a classic. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, a Director's Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She lives in New York City.

"Rollicking ... Almost too much fun to read." -- Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "Stylish writing ... a clear-eyed view .. cherry-picked examples." -- USA Today "With elegance, eloquence and majesty, Prose has give us a glimpse of the tangled webs of art and Eros." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Refreshing ... a wonderful work of revisionist biography." -- Kirkus Reviews "A wonderful combination of argument and literary portraiture." -- Wall Street Journal "Prose has done a great service in her just reconsideration of the rather strange, complicated role of the muse." -- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Juicy reading .... a thoroughly researched, highly opinionated series of fascinating double biographies." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review "A supple work of cultural history." -- Time magazine "Sad, glamorous and entirely riveting." -- Newsweek "Francine Prose humanizes nine women who, in some cases, have been idealized beyond recognition. Hurrah for real women." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Entertaining ... Prose's indignation, intelligence, scorching wit and critical insight have full play." -- Washington Post Book World "A remarkable book...piquant, intelligent, provocative--and sometimes haunting." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune "Prose make a remarkable case for the exceptionality of these women in their own right." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Exceptionally well researched ... an elegant study." -- Book Forum "Lively and compassionate" -- Entertainment Weekly "Richly drawn ... Prose approaches the artist-muse relationship with respect and wonder." -- Gotham Magazine "Prose taps into the power of nine in this inspired book." -- Art News "Packed with fascinating details." -- Columbus Dispatch "Smooth smart and altogether engaging." -- Atlanta Journal Constitution