Sarah Bernhardt, named by her fans the Divine Sarah, was the greatest French actress of the later 19th century and is recognized as the first international stage star. She debuted in the title role of Racine’s Iphigénie in 1862 and built a reputation as a versatile actress with an expressive voice and poetic gestures.
Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, she pursued multiple careers, buying a series of French theaters to produce modern experimental plays while touring Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Canada. She also wrote, painted, and sculpted.
During a 1905 performance in Rio de Janeiro, Bernhardt badly injured her knee, which finally required amputation in 1915. Despite her injury, Bernhardt performed on stage and in films until weeks before her death.
In "Memories of My Life" she writes vividly and with apparent honesty about her remarkable life. "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."
This illustrated edition contains dozens of photographs and paintings of her throughout her life.
