Benita Eisler Book order

George Catlin, recognized as the "first artist of the West," dedicated himself to capturing the essence of Native American tribes of the Northern Plains during the 1830s. After initially painting miniatures, he focused on preserving the image of what he saw as a "vanishing race" amid government encroachment on their lands. Over six years, he produced more than six hundred portraits, showcasing the unique identities of chiefs, warriors, and families from over thirty tribes along the upper Missouri River.

The biography explores the multifaceted life of George Sand, the first woman in Europe to achieve bestseller status. It delves into her literary achievements, political engagements, romantic relationships, and domestic life, portraying both her larger-than-life persona and her inner self. The author highlights Sand's significant contributions and the unique role she played in her historical context, offering a fresh perspective on her enduring legacy.

Chopin's funeral, bisecting the 19th century, stands as a turning point. Both the life and music of this frail elegant man played out at the crossroads. His decline and death following a series of catastrophes, particularly the breach with his lover Georges Sand and the ebb of his creative energy on the brink of a new style, were both final chapters in his often tragic life and reflected larger historical forces. CHOPIN'S FUNERAL is about a death foretold as the sum of other tragedies: the end of a world that fostered his particular genius; the wounds of exile and most fatally, the loss of love. An intimate close-up of the composer's last years, it is also the story of the artist as hero. At the close of his life, with no home or money, his physical powers failing, Chopin grappled with nothing less than a new musical form. CHOPIN'S FUNERAL is also the larger story of a great nineteenth-century city, Paris, in the grip of revolution.

In this masterful portrait of the poet who dazzled an era and prefigured the modern age of celebrity, noted biographer Benita Eisler offers a fuller and more complex vision than we have yet been afforded of George Gordon, Lord Byron.Eisler reexamines his poetic achievement in the context of his extraordinary life: the shameful and traumatic childhood; the swashbuckling adventures in the East; the instant stardom achieved with the publication of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage; his passionate and destructive love affairs, including an incestuous liaison with his half-sister; and finally his tragic death in the cause of Greek independence. This magnificent record of a towering figure is sure to become the new standard biography of Byron.