Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar written by Catherine Reef, reviewed by Rebecca Lowe

Summary: Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress who was the world's first celebrity superstar. This account follows her life from birth to death, with black and white photographs included. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: While many professional reviews list the book as appropriate for 7th grade and up, educators should be aware of frank discussions and explanations of French courtesans. Additionally, the dense text sparsely broken by photographs makes this more appropriate for older readers. While the life of Sarah Bernhardt is fascinating and the reader is left wondering at her magnetism and mystique, the writing style does not lean into sensationalism but relies more on a plain factual account style. This, again, caters to older readers. Finally, readers may find themselves confused by the placement of some photographs in relation to the text. In one notable instance, the author describes on the lefthand page Bernhardt's famous sculpture housed in the National Museum of Women in Arts in Washington DC but the photograph does not appear on the righthand page--the reader instead sees a photo of Bernhardt wearing pants and must turn the page to see the photograph of the artwork. That aside, the reader walks away with a sense of Bernhardt's mystique and a desire to dig out old black and white films to try to see Bernhardt perform for themselves. 

Bernhardt was alive through a great deal of important European history events, such as the Franco-Prussian war and WWI. She travelled the globe extensively and rubbed shoulders with important historical figures such as Mary Todd Lincoln, George Sand, Chopin, Edison, and more. Educators could also easily use Bernhardt's life to discuss the evolution of theater from vaudeville, to the professional theaters, to silent film. Bernhardt was an expert at staying in the forefront of public attention, with stunts like sleeping in her own coffin or claiming that she saved Mary Todd Lincoln's life. This could lead to interesting discussions about propaganda and advertising. 

Recommended for high school collections with strong theater or film programs.