My Double Life
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Publisher Description
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt, French stage and early film actress (1844 – 1923)
This ebook presents «My Double Life», from Sarah Bernhardt. A dynamic table of contents enables to jump directly to the chapter selected.
Table of Contents
- About This Book
- Childhood
- At Boarding School
- Convent Life
- My Début
- The Soldier's Shako
- The Family Council And My First Visit To A Theatre
- My Career-first Lessons
- The Conservatoire
- A Marriage Proposal And Examinations-the Conservatoire
- My First Engagement At The Comédie Française
- My Début At The House Of Moličre, And My First Departure Therefrom
- At The Gymnase Theatre-a Trip To Spain
- From The Porte St. Martin Theatre To The Odéon
- The Franco-prussian War
- Sarah Bernhardt's Ambulance At The Odéon Theatre
- Paris Bombarded
- A Bold Journey Through The German Lines
- My Return To Paris-the Commune-at St. Germain-en-laye
- Victor Hugo
- A Memorable Supper
- At The Comédie Française Again-sculpture
- A Descent Into The Enfer Du Plogoff-my First Appearance As Phčdre-the Decoration Of My New Mansion
- Alexandre Dumas-l'etrangčre-my Sculpture At The Salon
- Hernani-a Trip In A Balloon
- The Comédie Française Goes To London
- London Life-my First Performance At The Gaiety Theatre
- My Performances In London-my Exhibition-my Wild Animals-trouble With The Comédie Française
- The Comédie Française Returns To Paris-sarah Bernhardt's Comments On Actors And Actresses Of The Day
- My Departure From The Comédie Française-preparations For My First American Tour-another Visit To London
- A Tour In Denmark-royal Families-the "twenty-eight Days" Of Sarah Bernhardt
- Experiences And Reflections On Board Ship From Hâvre To New York
- Arrival In New York-american Reporters-the Custom House-performances In New York-a Visit To Edison At Menlo Park
- At Boston-story Of The Whale
- Montreal's Grand Reception-the Poet Frechette-an Escapade On The St. Lawrence River
- Springfield-baltimore-philadelphia-chicago-adventures Between St. Louis And Cincinnati-capital Punishment
- New Orleans And Other American Cities-a Visit To The Falls Of Niagara
- The Return To France-the Welcome At Hâvre
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The most tempestuous and possibly the most famous actress of her time, Bernhardt (1844-1923) kept a coffin by her bedroom window in which she lay "to learn my parts." Needless to say, the border between acting and life was tenuous for her. Bernhardt's two-volume memoir was originally published in English in an anonymous translation in 1907; this new translation, gracefully accomplished despite occasional anachronisms ("gofer"), is an abridgment of the first volume. Bernhardt, illegitimate although with some family money on both sides, is presented as both melodramatic and frustratingly discreet. We never learn the identity of her father, nor anything significant about her son Maurice's birth (she doesn't even mention that he was illegitimate). A husband, unnamed, emerges only once from the shadows. Still, Bernhardt writes vividly and with apparent honesty about her "thin and sorrowful visage," her troublesome failures to abide by contracts, and occasions when she "performed very badly." Most memorable is the German siege of Paris in 1870- 1871, when she turned her theater, the Odeon, into a military hospital, scrounged for provisions in the isolated city and burned the seats and props for warmth. Despite her failure to deliver on the teasing promise of her title, Bernhardt can be quite winning. She concludes by remarking, "My life, which I had at first expected to be very short, now seemed likely to be very very long; and it gave me great joy to think of the infernal displeasure that would cause my enemies."
