Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt

What I learned from reading this biography is that I know very little about French theater or aristocrats of the late 19th and early 20th century. Its interesting we all know Les Miserables but if you mention La Dame Aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas or Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo - we are at a loss. The other thing I learned was Sarah was extremely narcissistic and self promoting to the point that writing her biography is mostly speculative because she made up so many stories about herself. To her credit, she was born to a teenage mother, her father was only a rumor, and her mother was either neglectful or verbally abusive. Sarah had many affairs with leading men, and pretty much any one she knew including Victor Hugo and a few men. She was show more known for her extravagant dress and very adept at posing for pictures, which I guess a strength in the theater. I can't say I admire her, but she did have strong personality at a time when women were expected to marry or prostitute themselves. show less

Gottlieb does an decent job of trying to sift through the fabrications, lies and plain old stories about Sarah Bernhardt's life. Ultimately, the motivations behind decisions she made, such as her marriage, go unanswered.