by Amelia Gray
First published 2017
Isadora Duncan stands at the peak of her fame in 1913. Audiences across Europe flock to see her revolutionary dance performances. Her personal life draws equal attention. She takes lovers freely, including poets, directors, and the Singer sewing machine heir. Then tragedy strikes. Both her children drown in Paris. The woman who once commanded stages now faces a role she never wanted: grieving mother. Gossips circle like vultures. Isadora flees everything she built. She abandons her sister Elizabeth and Elizabeth's lover Max to run her artistic empire. For two years she drifts across prewar Europe. She lives on borrowed money in Greek islands and empty Italian beach houses. She attacks the friends and lovers who try to help her. The brilliant performer who once captivated the world now teeters between genius and madness, split between her public talent and private heartbreak.
Genres: drama, art, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, biographical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, fall-from-grace, grief
Setting: Europe, Greece, Italy, Paris
Period: 1913, Prewar
400 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Content warnings: death, mental-illness