Divine Sarah

By Adam Braver

Book Overview

Set over the course of one week in 1906, Divine Sarah reimagines the life of the legendary Sarah Bernhardt. Facing protests from the newly formed League of Decency, the controversial actress is forced to move her latest production from Los Angeles to the new development of Venice Beach. Though this battle is only the most recent skirmish in a tumultuous life, the sixty-two-year-old Sarah is exhausted and beginning to lose the will to fight. Plagued by maladies of the flesh and the spirit, she begins to search her soul, revealing the truths of her life, including the self-doubt and insecurity hidden beneath an extravagant and confrontational lifestyle. Yet Sarah is not alone in her battle. Vince Baker, an ambitious news reporter, faces his own demons even as he tries to uncover the truth about the greatest actress of the Victorian Age. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060544082
• ISBN13: 9780060544089
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A Divine Read

I found this book to be inspiring and interesting. I was struck by how contemporary many of the themes were: the boycotts against Bernhardt, the aging celebrity, etc. It all felt very fresh, as though it were speaking of today's times. I confess that I don't know that much about Sarah Bernhardt, but I beleive that the book is intended to be about more than her life and pridicaments. It seems to me that this beautifully written book is about the moments when people confront the images that they have of themselves, all in an effort to make sense of where they have been and where they are going.