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Original Essays | May 1, 2013
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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsThe Lives of the Muses: Nine Women & the Artists They Inspiredby Francine Prose
Staff Pick
In nine mini-biographies Prose finds the qualities in each woman that defines her as a muse. Elegantly written. Fascinatingly unique. Review-A-Day"The success of this study is grounded in Prose's appreciation of love's varieties and the strangeness of others....Can we ever understand the trajectory from an artist's life to the work of art? Is it a passageway or a fusion? Is longing needed to force creativity?...This exhilarating study realizes the force of creativity in unlikely alliances, some sexual, some pure passion of another kind." Gillian Beer, The Times Literary Supplement (read the entire Times Literary Supplement review) Synopses & ReviewsFrom Powells.com:In the fascinating Lives of the Muses National Book Award finalist Francine Prose deftly and entertainingly dissects the artist-muse relationship by shifting focus to the women who inspired the genius and obsession of famous men. Many think of passivity and submission as requisite elements of the muse role, but in these nine studies Prose (Blue Angel, Bigfoot Dreams) proves that, frequently enough, an independent spirit is just as instrumental. For example: Yoko Ono, an artist in her own right, changed the course of John Lennon's music and politics; Gala Dalí maintained her own celebrity status while marketing Salvador's work; memoirist Hester Thrale's letters influenced Samuel Johnson's writing; and psychotherapist Lou Andreas-Salomé fascinated Rilke, Nietzsche, and Freud. Prose intelligently explores the nature of these multifaceted relationships and presents her findings in provocative, well-researched essays. The result is an elegant feast for thought that should appeal to artists, historians, and anyone interested in the influence that inspiration has on the creative process. Malia, Powells.com
Publisher Comments:In a brilliant, wry, and provocative new book, National Book Award finalist Francine Prose explores the complex relationship between the artist and his muse. In so doing, she illuminates with great sensitivity and intelligence the elusive emotional wellsprings of the creative process.
There is no ideal muse, but rather as many variations on the theme as there are individual women who have had the luck, or misfortune, to find their destiny conjoined with that of a particular artist. What are we to make of the relationship between the child Alice Liddell, who inspired Alice in Wonderland, and the Oxford don who became Lewis Carroll? Or the so-called serial muse, Lou Andreas-Salomé, who captivated Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud — as impressive a list as any muse can boast? Salvador Dalí was the only artist to sign his art with his muse's name, and Gala Dalí certainly knew how to market her artist and his work while simultaneously burnishing her own image and celebrity. Lou, Gala, and Yoko Ono all defy the feminist stereotype of the muse as a passive beauty put on a pedestal and oppressed by a male artist. However, it's rare to find an artist and muse who are genuine partners, true collaborators, such as ballerina Suzanne Farrell and choreographer George Balanchine. What do the nine muses chosen by Francine Prose have in common? They were all beautiful, or sexy, or gifted with some more unconventional appeal. All loved, and were loved by, their artists, and inspired them with an intensity of emotion akin to Eros. For these artists, the love of — or for — their muses provided an essential element required for the melding of talent and technique necessary to create art. Review:"Rollicking....Almost too much fun to read." Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air/NPR
Review:"A supple work of cultural history." Time magazine
Review:"Smooth, smart, and altogether engaging." Atlanta Journal Constitution
Review:"The strongest essays here...pointedly refute the notion that the role of the muse is a passive one, and offer in its place a complicated vision of the necessary contradictions of artistic life....the book's achievement is its quiet reëvaluation of the received notion that genius is solitary in nature." The New Yorker
Review:"Exceptionally well researched...an elegant study." BookForum
Synopsis:In this bestselling finalist for the National Book Award, Prose explores the lives of such noted artists as Lewis Carroll, George Balanchine, and John Lennon, and the women who inspired their greatest achievements. Photos.
Synopsis:All loved, and were loved by, their artists, and inspired them with an intensity of emotion akin to Eros.
In a brilliant, wry, and provocative book, National Book Award finalist Francine Prose explores the complex relationship between the artist and his muse. In so doing, she illuminates with great sensitivity and intelligence the elusive emotional wellsprings of the creative process. About the AuthorFrancine Prose is the author of thirteen books of fiction, including the novel Blue Angel, a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent book is The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, including Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, she was a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in New York City.
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