• About
  • Jewish Community Directory
  • Subscription Information
  • Contact Us
American Jewish World
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

    From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

    On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

    On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

    ​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

    ​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Not Great Britain’s finest hour

    Not Great Britain’s finest hour

    Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

    Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

    Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes

    Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

    From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

    On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

    On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

    ​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

    ​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Not Great Britain’s finest hour

    Not Great Britain’s finest hour

    Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

    Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

    Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes

    Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
No Result
View All Result
Home Arts

A 19th century Jewish superstar

‘Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt’, by Robert Gottlieb, Yale University Press, 256 pages, $25

American Jewish World by American Jewish World
May 23, 2020
in Arts, Books & Literature
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Reviewed by NEAL GENDLER

For such a slender book about someone dead for 88 years, Sarah provides a surprisingly vivid feel for one of the most adored, most remarkable women of the 19th century.

READ ALSO

Not Great Britain’s finest hour

Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

In just 256 generously illustrated pages, author Robert Gottlieb paints a strong portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, the theatrical phenomenon who enthralled audiences across much of the globe, their fascination enhanced by what for its time — or even ours — was a lavish and loose lifestyle.

Many biographical details are speculative, with unreliable accounts coming from friends, enemies and Bernhardt herself. Gottlieb writes: “She was a compete realist when dealing with her life but a relentless fabulist when recounting it.” Yet the book has reliable accounts of her theatrical prowess, taken from sometimes effusive reviews. It also quotes from negative reviews, some of them vile with anti-Semitism.

Gottlieb’s narrative is casually erudite, yet very accessible, as one might expect from someone who has been editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster, Knopf and the New Yorker. In addition to photos of a gorgeous young Bernhardt and of many of the people in her life, 16 pages show her in starring roles as diverse as Phaedra and Hamlet.

Waiflike Bernhardt, a fiery redhead of frail health raised by a “distant and disapproving mother” and no father, lived a life of defying convention. Loathing some of her training at Paris’ Conservatoire, she decided to become the world’s greatest actress. She succeeded by using “a voice of gold,” creating her own electrifying style and applying enormous intensity to her craft. Even in her later years, colleagues testified to “her almost rabid attention to detail, her constant rethinking of her roles, and her insatiable energy.”

That insatiable energy went beyond the stage, what Gottlieb calls “her unquenchable need to be the center of attention” increasing her celebrity. Her life was a drama: important career help from her mother’s contacts; a practice of bedding her leading men; an apparently little-concealed parade of lovers; and no concealment at all of her out-of-wedlock son. Subject of her utmost devotion and indulgence, he often accompanied her on tours and at receptions. Apparently, even in the Victorian age, super-stardom could perfume away the scent of scandal.

She toured widely to acclaim, even nine times to the Americas although speaking only French. She became a sculptor and writer and created her own Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, spelling her name across the façade in 5,700 light bulbs. Fiercely patriotic, she endeared herself to her countrymen during the Franco-Prussian war, turning a closed theater into a military hospital, stocking it with supplies and tending the wounded.

Bernhardt, likely born in 1844, was baptized at her father’s insistence just before turning 12 and attended a convent school for six adolescent years. She publicly professed Catholicism but practiced little religion, called herself “a daughter of the great Jewish race” and defended Dreyfus. Her Jewishness runs like a slender thread through much of Gottlieb’s account.

Gottlieb is a smooth writer, blessedly restrained with French phrases. But while identifying Alexandre Dumas or son as “Dumas père” and “Dumas fils” is a bit charming, less so is identifying some important characters without first names, using instead untranslated titles, as in “le duc de” and “le conte de.”

Despite such quibbles, Sarah is an enjoyable, easy read, using the words of the actress and her contemporaries to color in the life details, mannerisms and fierce determination that explain her fame.

I can’t say that Sarah leaves me feeling quite as if I knew her, but it very much makes me wish that I had.

***

Neal Gendler is a Minneapolis writer and editor.

(American Jewish World, 2.18.11)

Related Posts

Not Great Britain’s finest hour
Books & Literature

Not Great Britain’s finest hour

December 23, 2022
Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’
Theater & Performing Arts

Five reasons to see ‘A Servants’ Christmas’

December 11, 2022
Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes
Books & Literature

Stella Levi recalls life on Rhodes

November 13, 2022
Attention, young Jewish artists! We want your Hanuka-themed artworks
Visual Arts

Attention, young Jewish artists! We want your Hanuka-themed artworks

November 13, 2022
Strange journey of a prophet
Books & Literature

Strange journey of a prophet

October 18, 2022
‘Uncle Philip’s Coat’ is bigger than life
Theater & Performing Arts

‘Uncle Philip’s Coat’ is bigger than life

October 18, 2022
Next Post

Editorial: Sorting out Israel in the Upper Midwest

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT ARTICLES

From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

From a brothel to a Brooklyn dress shop

January 22, 2023
On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

On the 100th anniversary of Martin Buber’s ‘I and Thou’

January 22, 2023
​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

​​’Echoes of the Holocaust’ to have world premiere in Minneapolis

January 20, 2023
In local appearance Nick Winton told the story of his father, humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton

In local appearance Nick Winton told the story of his father, humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton

December 23, 2022
Not Great Britain’s finest hour

Not Great Britain’s finest hour

December 23, 2022

About

Since 1912 the AJW has served as an important news resource for the Jewish community. The Jewish World unites the main Jewish communities in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as those in Duluth, Rochester and smaller cities, and bridges the divides between the various Jewish religious streams.

Quick Links

  • About the AJW
  • Advertising Information
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Subscription Information
  • Jewish Community Directory

Contact Us

The American Jewish World
3249 Hennepin Ave., Suite 245
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tel: 612.824.0030 / Fax: 612.823.0753
editor@ajwnews.com

  • Buy JNews
  • Landing Page
  • Documentation
  • Support Forum

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
  • News
  • Food
  • Health & Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.