Focusing on actresses in France during the early modern period; Virginia Scott examines how the stereotype of the actress has been constructed. The study then moves beyond that stereotype to detail the reality of the personal and artistic lives of women on the French stage; from the almost unknown Marie Ferre - who signed a contract for 12 livres a year in 1545 to perform the antiquailles de Rome or other histories; moralities; farces; and acrobatics in the provinces - to the queens of the eighteenth-century Paris stage; whose adventures have overshadowed their artistic triumphs. The book also investigates the ways in which actresses made invaluable contributions to the development of the French theatre in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; and looks at the afterlives of such women as Armande Bejart; Marquise Du Parc; Charlotte Desmares; Adrienne Lecouvreur; and Hippolyte Clairon in biographies; plays; and films.
#163481 in eBooks 2010-11-23 2010-11-23File Name: B004D4Y1OK
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Victorians. set between the modern era and the pomp of the pastBy Jeri"Britains might was fading fast...how long could so few govern?" (p 214) is exactly how our chattering class today viewed the end of the Victorian era. just as they cheered on Virginia Woolfs "everything was on trial" (p 214). the suggestion that culture and morals were to be put on trial. and perhaps altered beyond recognition.Paxman writes in a breezy style. making this enjoyable from page one. but it is clear he views the VIctorians through the lens of a twentieth century liberal. Yes. he certainly reveals the VIctorian era marked by a splendid vitality. with hundreds of new inventions. and the British empire spanning the globe. The sheer vitality of it comes out in the crowd scenes painted by Frith.But he also cheers on a world rocketing towards change. noting the "spreading culture of secularism" (p 225). A century that began with paintings of rural piety. as in Websters A Village Choir" soon moved on to the public outcry about Millais Christ in the House of his Parents. which became the object "vitrolic abuse" because it portrayed the Holy Family working and with dirty fingernails.Later. Landseers Man Proposes. God Disposes". showing polar bears ripping apart the remains of a failed arctic expedition. where. "Despite its title. the painting seems to depict a world over which no God at all presides and in which humanity is endlessly prey to amoral natural forces" (p 233).I enjoyed the book. yet it left me yearning to read someone on the other side. someone doesnt regard the Victorians with an amused and cynical take.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Small picturesBy Pam StonecipherDisappointed in how small book/pictures were.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Interesting and intelligentBy CressidaThis book is a tie-in for an excellent tv series Jeremy Paxman did for the BBC where he is primarily known as a ruthless political interviewer/journalist as well as the often bemused moderator of University Challenge (the British equivalent of College Bowl). He is also very articulate with an inquiring mind into various subjects. art and the Victorians among them.Obviously. his commentary is better appreciated when looking at the paintings and architecture in detail on the tv screen. But I find his observations and anecdotes just as interesting in book form. At least the book doesnt have the sometimes annoying background music. Personally. I would have preferred more time spent on the Pre-Raphaelites and less on the Dickensian social ills. But Paxman makes the subject of Victorian art (which is largely out of favour these days) fascinating.
