Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef (review)

Even young readers who know the name Sarah Bernhardt may not be entirely sure why she’s still notable nearly a century after her death. Reef provides insight into the legend in an account that smartly takes both Bernhardt’s theatrical art and her self-publicizing seriously (“Bernhardt knew better than anyone how to keep her face and name before the public”). The book follows the tempestuous French actress’ stormy life from her birth to a courtesan to her eventually triumphant acting career that saw her fêted across the globe. Along the way there were two major wars, an adored illegitimate son, lovers (oh, so many lovers), her own theater, sidelines in painting and sculpture, exotic pets, a knee amputation, and the advent of film. Reef does a particularly fine job of conveying the nineteenth century worlds in which Bernhardt moved and blossomed; she’s also tactful but clear in her acknowledgment of Bernhardt’s being a highly unreliable reporter of her own life. Though the book never explicitly makes the comparison, Bernhardt as portrayed here often resembles a contemporary social media star, making art of her persona as well as her stage performances. The book makes extensive use of photographs and artistic reproductions to set the scene, but Bernhardt herself remains tantalizingly elusive, with only a handful of images providing a glimpse of her charisma. Overall it’s an intriguing introduction to an early global celebrity, and many readers will want to read more, lured in by the Divine Sarah a century on. An author’s note further addresses the difficulty of pinning down Bernhardt’s life story; endnotes, an extensive bibliography, and a timeline are included, and an index will appear in the final copy.