Sappho: The Tenth Muse - Hardcover

Freedman, Nancy Mars

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312186606 ISBN 13: 9780312186609

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1998

Synopsis

In this finely drawn portrait, Sappho of Lesbos narrates her extraordinary life, from her childhood in war-torn Mitylene to her later relentless search for passionate love. Driven by the all-consuming fever of her Muse-inspired poetic gift, Sappho leads the reader on a journey that is at once turbulent and divine, desperate and sensuous. With breathtaking lucidity and great leaps of imagination, Nancy Freedman shows us a Sappho we have never known -- and one we will never forget. The toast of kings for her verse, Sappho was also a shrewd businesswoman, an educator, an advocate of women's equality, and a rebel who was banished from her island home. Remembering her solely as a lesbian icon reveals only one aspect of her multifaceted personality. Here, finally, Nancy Freedman gives us the complete Sappho. She was arguably the most accomplished lyric poet of the ancient world, but her writing was all but destroyed by the early Church. Only in this century have fragments been uncovered, so that we too may glimpse the force of this strangely enigmatic woman. Contradictory in nature, she inspired equally passionate adoration and loathing; her fame brought her a series of obsessive loves. Her relations with women are well known, but it was for the love of a man that she set sail to face her destiny.

About this title

From the Author:

MORE REPRESENTATIVE RECENT REVIEWS
I think readers of my many novels would be interested in recent reviews, pro and con, of SAPPHO:THE TENTH MUSE. --- LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Freedman's book is wonderful...radiant...authentic...highly recommended." --- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Freedman's SAPPHO is rather lurid." --- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Gloria Rohmann): "Freedman creates a vivid portrait of the central figure, who achieved a degree of personal success and independence unknown to any other woman of her age, and few in this," --- FEMALE FYI: "With breathtaking lucidity and great leaps of imagination, Nancy Freedman shows us a Sappho we have never known -- and one we will never forget. Freedman invites the reader back 2600 years to meet anew this brilliant, magnetic, legendary woman." --- MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS (Peggy Hall Kaplan): "SAPPHO THE TENTH MUSE is the latest of a dozen books Freedman has produced, exploring various cultures. Freedman creates a vivid account of Sappho's life and her dynamic spirit." --- HOWARD B.GOTLIEB (Boston University): "SAPPHO is a beautiful piece of writing and deserves a wide audience. An exceptional work." --- SUSAN CRAIN BAKOS (author): "This wholly original novel offers a moving look at one of history's first feminists."

About the Author:

Nancy Freedman is the author of the novel Sappho.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0312186606
• ISBN 13: 9780312186609
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336