Description

About the Author

Francine Prose is the critically acclaimed author of nineteen novels, including the National Book Award Finalist Blue Angel and My New American Life. She has written three other novels for young adults: After, winner of the California Young Reader Medal, an IRA/CBC Young Adults' Choice, and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age; Bullyville, a PW Best Book and Book Sense Children's Pick; and her most recent, Touch. She is also the author of two picture books, Leopold, the Liar of Leipzig and Rhino, Rhino, Sweet Potato. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, Francine Prose was Director's Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in New York City.

Praise for The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women & the Artists They Inspired…

“Rollicking … Almost too much fun to read.”
-Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

“Stylish writing … a clear-eyed view .. cherry-picked examples.”
-USA Today

“With elegance, eloquence and majesty, Prose has give us a glimpse of the tangled webs of art and Eros.”
-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Refreshing … a wonderful work of revisionist biography.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“A wonderful combination of argument and literary portraiture.”
-Wall Street Journal

“Prose has done a great service in her just reconsideration of the rather strange, complicated role of the muse.”
-San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

“Juicy reading …. a thoroughly researched, highly opinionated series of fascinating double biographies.”
-Los Angeles Times Book Review

“A supple work of cultural history.”
-Time magazine

“Sad, glamorous and entirely riveting.”
-Newsweek

“Francine Prose humanizes nine women who, in some cases, have been idealized beyond recognition. Hurrah for real women.”
-San Francisco Chronicle

“Entertaining … Prose’s indignation, intelligence, scorching wit and critical insight have full play.”
-Washington Post Book World

“A remarkable book...piquant, intelligent, provocative--and sometimes haunting.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Prose make a remarkable case for the exceptionality of these women in their own right.”
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Exceptionally well researched … an elegant study.”
-Book Forum

“Lively and compassionate”
-Entertainment Weekly

“Richly drawn … Prose approaches the artist-muse relationship with respect and wonder.”
-Gotham Magazine

“Prose taps into the power of nine in this inspired book.”
-Art News

“Packed with fascinating details.”
-Columbus Dispatch

“Smooth smart and altogether engaging.”
-Atlanta Journal Constitution