Starring Madame Modjeska - by Beth Holmgren (Hardcover)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>Starring Madame Modjeska traces Modjeska's fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America, and finally to her enduring legacy.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>In 1876, Poland's leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska, accompanied by family and friends, emigrated to southern California to establish a utopian commune that soon failed. Within a year Modrzejewska made her debut in the title role of <i>Adrienne Lecouvreur</i> at San Francisco's California Theatre. She changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore. <i>Starring Madame Modjeska</i> traces Modjeska's fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America, and finally to her enduring legacy.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p><i>Starring Madame Modjeska </i>is based on very solid archival research, yet it is written with lightness and grace--qualities inspired by the character of the formidable protagonist of this excellent book.</p>-- "Slavic Review"<br><br><p><i>Starring Madame Modjeska</i> . . . makes an important contribution to our understanding of Western theatre history. Scholars as well as theatre enthusiasts will surely benefit from this well-organized and meticulously researched study of a true international star of the nineteenth century. </p>-- "cosmopolitanreview.com"<br><br><p>Beth Holmgren's book is a monograph of Helena Modrzejewska/Modjeska . . ., the famous Polish-American stage star. The author's purpose was 'to introduce a little-remembered actress to a new American audience' . . . . This plan was successfully completed. <i>Starring Madame Modjeska</i> is not just a popularized biography but a result of meticulous research and intellectual elaboration.</p>-- "Pol-Int"<br><br><p>Holmgren's study is a truly transnational biography, elegantly written and immaculately researched. Its real achievement is to make Modrzejewska whole, not just by bridging two national narratives but by integrating her public and private personae. . . . <i>Starring Madame Modjeska</i> will be of interest<br/>to scholars of nineteenth-century Poland, world theater, and American immigration.</p>-- "H-Poland H-Net Reviews"<br><br><p>The breadth of Holmgren's research is impressive, as is her talent as a writer. Her achievement is to have put together from many disparate sources an immensely readable narrative. </p>-- "Women's Review of Books"<br><br><p>While theater enthusiasts will enjoy the care and detail that Beth Holmgren took with <i>Starring Madame Modjeska</i>, readers of history will appreciate the role this woman played on the world's stage. It makes for great drama. </p>-- "newpages.com"<br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><p>Beth Holmgren is Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Theater Studies at Duke University. She is author of <i>Women's Works in Stalin's Time </i>(IUP, 1993), editor (with Helena Goscilo) of <i>Poles Apart: Women in Modern Polish Culture</i> and <i>Russia - Women - Culture</i> (IUP, 1996), and translator and editor (with Helena Goscilo) of <i>The Keys to Happiness by Anastasya Verbitskaya</i> (IUP, 1999).</p>
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