Beautiful lady; tragic story
353708
I just heard "Quality Time" on the radio last night and was so curious about the identity of this fantastic singer. That her life came to such a tragic and untimely end is heartbreaking; it's surreal to say "hello" and "goodbye" all at the same time. At least there's all this great music through which I can get to know her. Bittersweet indeed.
4660624
My ancestress Glueckel, much beloved by social historians as a very rare primary source about the life of  German Jews in the seventeenth century, was a semi-literate, pious, loving and incredibly feisty lady. Her autobiographical story is both exhilarating and melancholy; after a lifetime of successful struggles to earn a good livelihood for her family after her husband's early death, she ended her life as a perhaps not overly welcome guest in the home of one of her sons in law. She writes her book at night when she cannot sleep, for her children's instruction "...and for my own consolation". Her tale is fascinating even though her main interests, dowries, trade and moral tales, are not ours. Her business took her all over Germany; roads were insecure, the treatment of Jews varied but was seldom welcoming, debtors defaulted, creditors pressed, children acted imprudently, marriages had to be arranged and rearranged. She introduces us to a colorful and scary world of ordinary people. Quite lovely!
4357601
Bettina, the narrator, is eleven when she begins this tale about her intenselly frustrating relationship with her beautiful, filthy rich, glamourous and supremelly egotistical mother, who doesn't spare her her cinic views on life nor the gory details of her super active sex life. Bettina  is in awe of this fascinating, although very distant, character, craves and never gets her affection, somehow manages to survive intact, though deeply affected. I loved the photographic way Ms. Ashley Prentice Norton describes all the beauty she is surrounded by, in people, on clothes. This is such a contrast to her own need for self destruction and the claustrophobic loneliness that emprisons her.
I would highlly recommend this book, with the caution that it might be a bit too graphic, even on these days and age!
3467997
I was fascinated by the tragic story of Sister Surrendered. Why was this poor soul set on the path to destruction at every turn? The inconsistency of the medical profession that was supposed to aid in her healing only brought her pain and suffering. The story clearly illustrated that the bond between the sisters was deep and abiding.
4625421
Well-researched by the author and now documented forever, the life of Lili St Cyr will not be forgotten. Lili St Cyr was a pioneer, and an icon, really, of the women's movement, in the way that she made her own choices and, at great risk in the earlier 20th century, took control of her act and her body and how much or how little she shared. She empowered herself and, thereby, her female audience. She was an artist and a stunningly beautiful and elegant dancer. Unfortunately, her tragic ending may suggest she paid the price for her born-too-soon pioneering ways.
3644982
This is a sad tale, really, of the emotional aftermath of the loss of the main-female character's family by the hands of a killer, who is out to get her (the last witness), too. Thankfully, she and a chivalrous rescuer (also recovering from the death of a friend) find support from his devoted comrades, and then love and a happily-ever-after. I would recommend this book and read more by this author.
4016371
A touching but tragic story and the character has to make a difficult decision. I think she made the right one.
4650727
The Vanderbilts were one messed up family, elevating conspicuous consumption to heights that are eye-popping even by today's super-rich standards. Basically, the fortune got diluted with each generation and the succeeding generations were unhappier. the story of Gloria Vanderbilt is probably the most well-known today, and it's just tragic. This book is a peek into the Gilded Age, an era that eerily reflects our own with the gulf between the rich and the poor. But man, those rich people knew how to party! And they liked their houses. (The writer uses the various houses they built as a metaphor for the "House of Vanderbilt" itself and the descriptions of the architectural monstrosities filled with antiques and art make us wish there were even more pictures in the book. The story might have been better served if the narrative had focused on just one generation of the family though, as it tends to ramble a bit. And everybody seemed to have the same name, which makes us wish there'd been a family tree in there somewhere.
4723607
I bought this DVD for one reason only: "Sarabande for Dead Lovers," which I saw as a kid at least 12 times. Unfortunately, it is not available elsewhere, in its pristine beauty. Despite the dreadful deterioration of the print, "Sarabande" is still revealed as a splendid historical J. Arthur Rank epic.  Based upon A.E.W. Mason's historical novel, "Koenigsmark", "Sarabande" concerns the tragic life of Sofia Dorothea of Celle (the silken-voiced and beautiful red-haired Joan Greenwood), who is locked in a loveless marriage with the loutish and gross Elector of Hanover, Georg Louis, who becomes George I, of England, but not before he locks his unloved wife in a tower for life. The reason? Her love affair with Philip Christopher von Koenigsmark (Stewart Granger at his most suavelicious!). Their tragic affair is thwarted by the aging once-beautiful red-haired Countess Clara von Platen (Flora Robson--the Helen Mirren of her day), abetted by a sinister Anthony Quayle. Completing the cast is the outstanding French actress, Franoise Rosay, as the Electress of Hanover, who has renounced all emotion in the name of  Royal Obligation.

It is such a shame that this film was not rescued before it disintegrated. The performances of the cast speak for themselves, but, unfortunately, one has to intuit the glorious color of the costumes and the richness of the settings in their lost magnificence.
2850369
Nowaday, the name Rebekah Harkness probably raised only a few eyebrows for the uninitiated. But at one time, not so long ago, she was one of the richest, and also infamous woman in the world.
"Blue Blood" tells the story of Rebekah Semple West, the rebellious socialite daughter of a wealthy businessman who went on to marry William Hale Harkness, one of the richest men of his days. After his untimely death, Rebekah inherited his fortune, and it seems where money goes, trouble follows.
To the public at large, Rebekah Harkness was a rich, generous (in truth, too generous) woman who backed the arts, including the Harkness Ballet. But what they don't know was that as generous as she can be, Rebekah's favor is also a fickle, and all too often, a fleeting thing. People who displeased her are quickly written out of the picture....but all too often, Rebekah, in an ever vicious cycle, replaced them with similar, if not worse, opportunists and syncophants.
While she may appear regal in public, her private life was a shambles. Even with all the money in the world, Rebekah failed miserably as a mother, sharing strained relationships with her children. Her attempts to buy approval and affection with her money only ended in ruined lives and a squandered fortune.
All that aside, Blue Blood did its research and constructed a complex and fascinating view of Rebekah Harkness. While it might paint Rebekah as a villain at times, it also remind us that for all her faults, Rebekah is still a human being and not a saint; and she's not supposed to be.
Chock full of interesting tidbits and gossip (and photos in the middle of the book), Blue Blood provides a rare look into the world where the rich mingled....
And reminds us that the only people who can truly appreciate wealth are those who didn't have it before and earned it themselves.
928266
I enjoyed The Day the Falls Stood Still.  The characterizations were dynamic and vivid and the historical info was fascinating.  However, while the story unfolded in a reasonable and clear fashion, it was marred by the melodrama that occurred regularly.  I know these things had to happen to push the plot along, but what a tremendous number of tragedies in one short life.  I was not left with any kind of a message, uplifting or otherwise--just a feeling of sadness and loss.  There is no doubt, however, that this young author is greatly talented and with work can develop her craft to a very high level.
B. Alexander
4135375
This book tells one of Canada's most tragic tales that brought about the near-extinction of a people through ethnic and religious intolerance, the Expulsion of the Acadians. This is the story of that episode through the eyes of the second eldest daughter of a large family. It is a heartbreaking story of loss and shameful, needless relocation of a people who were not wanted where they came from nor where they were sent. Hated either because they were French or Catholic, or both, the story brings to mind that world issues of today are no different than the ones of the past. A well-written, fast-paced story even though one knows ultimately how it will end due to the title, if one isn't familiar with the history. The book has a heavy atmosphere; I felt sad for the most part with the loss and death, and the ending only gives a bittersweet dose of happiness. The historical details are presented well through the emotional story and I'd say this would make a good introduction to the topic, especially with the historical notes included at the back of the book. I thought I didn't know this author, but taking a look at her backlist of titles, I realize I have read one other of her historical fictions a very long time ago. An emotional entry in the series.
735304
The book is a page turner.  Why did Menelaus take her back after the Trojan War?  Why did she run off with Paris in the first place?  How did the rest of the world feel about Helen's infidelity? How did they react when she was pardoned?  What became of her once she was left to her own devices?  These questions drive the plot.  However, the story really seems to wrestle with the nature and value of beauty, the need for forgiveness, the dangers of fame, and the tragedy of staying stuck in one moment for too long.  Antonetti's first work is a beautiful recreation of Helen's story --one where "the face that launched a thousand ships" is coupled with an indelible charisma born not singularly of looks but also of a natural grace and charm.  What must it have been like to be compared to this beauty?  Helen's trip to Rhodes exposes her to Queen Polyoxo, a character brooding over her own hurts and her response to that very question.  Highly recommended!
2689159
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James sketches the account of life and times of most memorable heroine Isabel Archer. Isabel leaves US and arrives in England with her Aunt. Her cousin, Ralph, who ails from tuberculosis takes active interest in her, and Henry James creates highly realistic and entertaining conversations, which shed light into the character and thoughts of both these characters and the uncle and the aunt. The story gets interesting with presence of two suitors, each highly successful in their respective country (US and UK). The dying uncle leaves his neice a fortune, and she finds herself independent enough to pursue her whims and life.

Her marriage to Gilbert Osmond, the events that lead to it and how Isabel comes of age is the reason why Portrait of a Lady is a must read novel for every person. After denying two apt and deserving suitors, Isabel ventures to make a tragic choice and the intricate interplay of her perception or rather lack of it with the circumstances and events makes novel a masterpiece. The strains between the Old Europe and New America, the idiosyncracies associated with each come to fore, both through Isabel's life and through that of her journalist friend's, Henrietta Stackpole's.

Be it plain Pansy, the perfectionist Madame Merle, the cold and practical Aunt, the socialite Countess Gemini, each woman, like Isabel, is portrayed in sufficent detail. The two suitors engage as character studies, while the cousin Ralph is the character that shall stay with me forever. Admirable even in adverse circumstances, he is for me besides Isabel, the greatest creation of Henry James.

The story could have become melodramatic, but that is highly understated. The dialogues could have filled it to make it like screenplay, but James supplies nice descriptions of both the physical world and that of what goes in Isabel's heart to make it substantial. The commentaries on love and marriage that are subtly built into the novel, and the picture of both US and Europe seem quite contemporary. For a novel written in 1881, it shows how acute the observations of the author were, as well as the fact that we, humans, live life with similar choices, mistakes and feelings irrespective of the age. The novel has enough element of suspense, and events unfold in unexpected ways, making each discovery a pleasant or unpleasant surprise.

Having read many bleak American novels, this Henry James novel allows one to see how a Jane Austen type entertainer can be generated with sufficient origanility by a masterful writer. I am spellbound by the analogies in many of the most memorable actresses, espicially in how they make their choices between men.

Four excerpts from novel shows one the essence of the book:

"Justice to a lovely being is after all a florid sort of sentiment."

"She had had a more wondrous vision of him, fed though charmed senses and oh such stirred fancy!- she had not read him right. A certain combination of features had touched her, and in them she had seen most striking of figures. That he was poor and lonely and yet that somehow he was noble- that was what had interested her and seemed to give her her opportunity. There had been an undefinable beauty about him - in his situation, in his mind, in his face. She had felt the same time that he was helpless and ineffectual, but the feeling had taken a form of tenderness which was very flower of respect."

"It was not till the first year of their life together, so admirably intimate at first, had closed she had taken the alarm. Then the shadows had begun to gather; it was as if Osmond delibrately, almost malignantly, had put the lights out one by one."

"How could anything be a pleasure to a woman who knew that she had thrown away her life?"
4736580
Her Grace, the Duchess of Devonshire was much more than a fabulous, influential lady of the late eighteenth century, she embodied a  rare combination of dignity and heartfelt sentiments, which was generally not found amid members of the British aristocracy of the time.  This great film is not only beautiful, entertaining and informative, but also a testimony of an exceptional, amazing lady's life.  Bearing in mind that I am hardly ever influenced and/or touched by what I watch in movies and by what I read in novels, I daresay that I actually wish that i could have been Her Grace's contemporary, somewhere in time...
2165917
A great historical story but the main reason I did not like the story was because of the implied morals of the main character. Potential and intelligence were hers yet she chose to be less of a woman by lowering herself to a base relationship because of society's gossip. So sad and it could have been truly brilliant!
723283
Leaming takes a psychological approach to her film star subjects, backed up by key interviews and archival and print documentation. The story of Rita Hayworth, Hollywood's Love Goddess, is poignant and well told.  Hayworth was identified with her screen role, Gilda, the fiery, redhaired  temptress who drove men wild. In real life, though, as she was supposed to  have said, "Men go to bed with Gilda and wake up with me," a sad  and ironic commentary on movie-fed fantasy. None of her five marriages  lasted long, and she was involved in countless lawsuits with husbands, her  studio (Columbia), and ex-husbands. Leaming posits a possible reason for  her failures as a lover, wife, and mother, that is, that she may have  suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father, Eduardo Cansino.  Mature-looking beyond her years and a talented dancer, she was her father's  dance partner at 12, working to support her family in gambling casinos and  other dives south of the border. Leaming backs up her assertions by  relating Hayworth's adult behavior to that of incest survivors. She makes a  provocative case, but since Hayworth died prematurely of Alzheimer's  disease and never spoke on the subject, it has to remain pure--but  nonetheless tantalizing--speculation. A fascinating read, and a sad one.