Francine Prose

En una tarde perfecta, Margaret y Nico juegan a ser Cleopatra en su navío real, mientras deslizan su bote por el lago Mirror. Nico observa cada uno de los gestos de su hermana Margaret y descubre en ellos a sus artistas de cine preferidas. Margaret siempre ha sido una brillante actriz, o mejor, ha sido brillante en todo. Margaret se sumerge en el agua... y pasado un rato Nico deja de verla. "Todo se arreglará, hay que dejar pasar el tiempo", dice su padre. Los días sin su hermana comienzan a pesar y Nico acepta trabajar en Goldengrove, la librería de su padre. Revisa con atención los tomos dedicados a las enfermedades del corazón, pero se detiene ante un libro de poesía en el que hay una página señalada por su padre, se trata del poema "La primavera y el otoño de una niña", de Gerald Manley Hopkins. Nico descubre con rabia de dónde tomaron sus padres el nombre de su hermana y el trágico destino del poema, tan trágico como el de su hermana. La sutil sombra de la brillante Margaret persigue a Nico, que poco a poco comienza a tomar la identidad de su hermana; y a Aaron, el enigmático novio de Margaret, con quien Nico establece una extraña relación. Sin el control de sus padres, la joven Nico se embarca en aventuras que no son propias de su edad, y experimenta la pérdida de la inocencia y el despertar del deseo sexual, para acabar descubriendo que sólo se puede sobrevivir reafirmando su propia identidad.

A short story by Francine Prose from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre. The Mirror boldly imagines Jane Eyres married life after the novel ends. Edited by Tracy Chevalier, the full collection, Reader, I Married Him, brings together some of the finest and most creative voices in fiction today, to celebrate and salute the strength and lasting relevance of Charlotte Brontes game-changing novel and its beloved narrator.

Héritière d’une richissime famille juive américaine, Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) a rassemblé une des plus belles collections au monde d’art moderne.Excentrique, anticonformiste, libertine, Peggy Gug

"Yo no soy una coleccionista. Yo soy un museo". Peggy GuggenheimPobre niña rica, coleccionista de maridos y de cuadros, fundadora de la galería y de la colección que dieron entidad al arte del siglo xx, viajera, amante de la noche y de la vida social, gran lectora, divertida, manipuladora, complicada... el perfil humano y profesional de Peggy Guggenheim se desvela por fin en esta biografia breve pero completa, basada en el propio relato de su protagonista y el de quienes la conocieron. Y de fondo, todo el mundo cultural europeo y estadounidense del ultimo siglo.Una excelente biografia corta [] escrita por una cronista sutil yatenta al detalle. The guardian

Francine Prose explora en este libro la compleja relación entre el artista y su musa. De una forma brillante, irónica y provocativa saca a la luz con gran sensibilidad e inteligencia las fuentes esquivas y emocionales del proceso creativo. ¿Que tienen en comun las musas que aparecen en este libro? Todas eran hermosas y sensuales, con un atractivo poco convencional. Todas amaron a sus artitas, y los artistas las quisieron a ellas, pero tambien les inspiraron con una intensidad y un sentimiento propios del eros. Para todos estos artistas, el amor de sus musas, o a sus musas, fue un elemento imprescindible para crear su arte.

A feiticeira desesperadamente apaixonada por Marco Antônio. A sedutora que, supostamente, se escondeu entre tecidos e tapeçarias para impressionar César. A tirana que assassinou a família para assumi

Como señala la novelista Francine Prose, estamos obsesionados con la dieta. ¿Y qué es esta obsesión por la comida sino una lucha entre el pecado y la virtud, el exceso y el autocontrol, una lucha contra las feroces tentaciones de la gula? En Gula, Francine Prose sirve un maravilloso banquete de ingeniosas e interesantes observaciones sobre este delicioso pecado capital. A traves de un repaso a la evolucion de los distintos conceptos de gula, analiza tambien las ideas al respecto sobre la salvacion y la condena, la salud y la enfermedad, la vida y la muerte. Y no solo ofrece un bullicioso coctel de referencias, que oscila desde san Agustin hasta Chaucer, pasando por Petronio y Dante, sino que tambien demuestra que la gula, en la Edad Media, constituia un problema profundamente espiritual, mientras que hoy en dia la hemos transformado de pecado en enfermedad, de modo que lo que satanizamos son los horrores del colesterol y los peligros de la carne roja. De hecho, la opinion moderna sobre la gula sostiene que comemos por un impulso compulsivo, autodestructivo, para evitar la intimidad y el contacto social. Pero la gula, como nos recuerda Prose, tambien constituye una afirmacion del placer y la pasion. La autora finaliza el libro contando la historia de uno de los grandes heroes de la gula, Diamond Jim Brady, cuyo estomago tenia un tamaño seis veces mayor de lo normal. Como escribe Prose, el rostro grueso y resplandeciente de la gula ha sido y continua siendo- el espejo donde nos reflejamos, donde se reflejan nuestras esperanzas y miedos, nuestros sueños mas oscuros y deseos mas profundos. Y nunca nos habremos contemplado tanto en este espejo como con este libro perspicaz y estimulante.

It''s been years since Swenson, a professor of creative writing at a small American college, has published a novel of his own. And it''s been longer since one of his students has shown the faintest glimmer of talent. Enter Angela Argo: pierced, tattooed, sullen - and a wonderful writer. Swenson can''t believe his good fortune at having such a gifted student. Nurturing Angela''s talent becomes his obsession, he is more than happy to find time to give her the extra-curricular, one-to-one tutorials she craves. Revitalised by Angela, Swenson''s life seems perfect. However, as experience shows, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Nominated for the prestigious National Book Award, Blue Angel is one of the most acclaimed American novels of recent years. A pitch-perfect, wickedly funny satire on academia, it is a joy to read.

Pobre niña rica, coleccionista de maridos y de cuadros, fundadora de la galería y de la colección que dieron entidad al arte del siglo xx, viajera, amante de la noche y de la vida social, gran lectora, divertida, manipuladora, complicada... el perfil humano y profesional de Peggy Guggenheim se desvela por fin en esta biografia breve pero completa, basada en el propio relato de su protagonista y el de quienes la conocieron. Y de fondo, todo el mundo cultural europeo y estadounidense del ultimo siglo.

Gabor Tsenyi aurait-il pu prévoir qu’il photographierait un jour l’une des personnalités les plus fascinantes et terrifiantes du XXe siècle ? Fraîchement arrivé de sa Hongrie natale dans le Paris des

Matching gorgeous prose to gorgeous artworks, Prose responds to each image as a moment of theatrical revelation, sensual or spiritual, and frequently both. Boston Sunday GlobeIn Caravaggio, New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose offers an enthralling account of the life and work of one of the greatest painters of all time. Caravaggio defied the aesthetic conventions of his time; his use of ordinary people, realistically portrayedstreet boys, prostitutes, the poor, the agedwas a profound and revolutionary innovation that left its mark on generations of artists. His insistence on painting from nature, on rendering the emotional truth of experience, whether religious or secular, made him an artist who speaks across the centuries to modern day.Called racy, intensely imagined, and highly readable by the New York Times Book Review, Caravaggio includes eight pages of color illustrations, and is sure to appeal to art enthusiasts interested in one of historys true innovators. Caravaggio is part of the Eminent Lives series from HarperCollins, a selection of biographies by distinguished authors on canonical figures.While his art is immortal, his life was a whirlwind of genius, violence, and exile.A Revolutionary Realism: See how Caravaggio defied convention by using prostitutes, street boys, and the poor as his models for saints and martyrs, forever changing the face of religious art. The Sinner-Saint: Explore the paradox of a man whose divine masterpieces were created amidst a life of brawls, duels, and exile. Art and Crime: Delve into the dramatic story of a celebrated artist who was also a fugitive, wanted for murder and constantly on the run from the law. An Enduring Legacy: Discover why this master painter, ignored for centuries, now speaks with such power to the modern world in this compelling work of art history.

George Eliots beloved classic novel of provincial lifehailed by Virginia Woolf as "masterful"follows the life, loves, foibles, and politics of the residents of a fictional English town set amid the social unrest of the Industrial Revolution. This Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition includes an introduction by award-winning author Francine Prose.The idealistic Dorothea Brooke married Edward Casaubona clergyman and scholar some years her seniornaively hoping their union would be a true meeting of the minds. Trapped in a lonely marriage to a tyrannical man, she finds companionship with Edwards cousin, but her overtures risk her spotless reputation and jeopardize her future.The ambitious young doctor Tertius Lydgate comes to Middlemarch full of progressive ideas, eager to volunteer his skill at the local hospital. Through his connections there he meets the mayors beautiful daughter, Rosamond Vincy, and marries her, only to face financial ruin at the hands of her materialism and overwhelming vanity.Rosamonds brother, Fred, is destined for the Church to improve his familys class standing, but his childhood sweetheart, Mary Garth, refuses to marry him unless he pursues a more suitable career. Forced by fate into uncertain financial circumstances, Fred must question his choices and desires if he hopes to earn Marys respect.God-fearing and esteemed, Nicholas Bulstrode is a good man and trustworthy bankeror so it appears until an old enemy comes to town, intent on revealing Bulstrodes shady past dealings. Terrified of being exposed as a hypocrite, he takes matters into his own hands, each desperate act spiraling him further into disgrace and corruption.A masterwork of fiction, Middlemarch traces these four lives in a plot that illuminates the social fabric of mid-nineteenth-century England. Looming above the landscape of Victorian literature, Eliots beloved novel explores the perennial struggle between individual and society, integrity and temptation, and is as timely today as when it was first published.

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.

A richly imagined and stunningly inventive literary masterpiece of love, art, and betrayal, exploring the genesis of evil, the unforeseen consequences of love, and the ultimate unreliability of storytelling itself.Paris in the 1920s shimmers with excitement, dissipation, and freedom. It is a place of intoxicating ambition, passion, art, and discontent, where louche jazz venues like the Chameleon Club draw expats, artists, libertines, and parvenus looking to indulge their true selves. It is at the Chameleon where the striking Lou Villars, an extraordinary athlete and scandalous cross-dressing lesbian, finds refuge among the clubs loyal denizens, including the rising Hungarian photographer Gabor Tsenyi, the socialite and art patron Baroness Lily de Rossignol; and the caustic American writer Lionel Maine.As the years pass, their fortunesand the world itselfevolve. Lou falls desperately in love and finds success as a race car driver. Gabor builds his reputation with startlingly vivid and imaginative photographs, including a haunting portrait of Lou and her lover, which will resonate through all their lives. As the exuberant twenties give way to darker times, Lou experiences another metamorphosissparked by tumultuous eventsthat will warp her earnest desire for love and approval into something far more.