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Isadora: A Sensational Life
Isadora Duncan is considered by many to be the founder of modern dance. Her name is synonymous with originality, spontaneity, drama, and sensuality. Finally, here is a biography that does justice to the life of this unforgettable woman. Never before has Isadora Duncan been so thoroughly explored. Kurth recounts her sensational life -- her many loves, her passion for her art, her sensational performances, and her personal tragedies. Isadora reveals the dramatic story of this passionate artist, set against the sweeping backdrop of Europe and the United States in the early twentieth century.
608 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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269 people want to read
About the author
Peter Kurth
24 books30 followersPETER KURTH is the author of "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson," "American Cassandra: The Life of Dorothy Thompson," "Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra," and "Isadora: A Sensational Life," and co-author (with Eleanor Lanahan) of "Zelda: An Intimate Portrait." His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes FYI, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Observer, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, and Salon.com.
Peter Kurth lives in Vermont.
Peter Kurth lives in Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 7, 2023
Isadora Duncan, I mean, fiction couldn't think up a more larger-than-life person. Things that happened to her:
-Invented new style of dance
-Met Aleister Crowley and her best friend ended up in a relationship with him and part of his cult
-Lived in Greece for awhile and went about in togas
-Had a relationship and a child with Paris Singer, heir of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune
-Her two children died in a car accident when the car stalled, the driver got out to crank the car and it jerked forward and drove by itself into a river
-Had a relationship with Mercedes da Acosta, famous lesbian
-Moved to the Soviet Union to open a ballet school and sort of kind of became a Bolshevik
-Had a tumultuous relationship with Sergei Esenin, famous Soviet poet 15 years her junior
-Became stateless after she lost her passport and married Esenin, at the time the US revoked citizenship for American women who married foreigners
-Refused to ride in any cars except convertibles after her children died
-stated on numerous occasions she knew she'd die in a car accident
-Was thrown from a car after the car split in two while driving
-ended up dying when her scarf got tangled in the wheel and axle of the convertible she was riding in
There's also so much more, which makes it a shame that this book is really dry in parts. I'd get some fascinating aspect of the arguments between her and Esenin and then it would be pages of her travel plans and every theater she danced in. The author also didn't really explain what her dancing looked like, like what were her actual movements? The things he chose to describe are odd. For example, there's a paragraph about paintings her brother Augustin did which were banned, but he never describes the paintings! However, every single time some random person calls Isadora fat, that is included. It's bizarre and really makes the book drag at parts. So these stars are for Isadora.
-Invented new style of dance
-Met Aleister Crowley and her best friend ended up in a relationship with him and part of his cult
-Lived in Greece for awhile and went about in togas
-Had a relationship and a child with Paris Singer, heir of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune
-Her two children died in a car accident when the car stalled, the driver got out to crank the car and it jerked forward and drove by itself into a river
-Had a relationship with Mercedes da Acosta, famous lesbian
-Moved to the Soviet Union to open a ballet school and sort of kind of became a Bolshevik
-Had a tumultuous relationship with Sergei Esenin, famous Soviet poet 15 years her junior
-Became stateless after she lost her passport and married Esenin, at the time the US revoked citizenship for American women who married foreigners
-Refused to ride in any cars except convertibles after her children died
-stated on numerous occasions she knew she'd die in a car accident
-Was thrown from a car after the car split in two while driving
-ended up dying when her scarf got tangled in the wheel and axle of the convertible she was riding in
There's also so much more, which makes it a shame that this book is really dry in parts. I'd get some fascinating aspect of the arguments between her and Esenin and then it would be pages of her travel plans and every theater she danced in. The author also didn't really explain what her dancing looked like, like what were her actual movements? The things he chose to describe are odd. For example, there's a paragraph about paintings her brother Augustin did which were banned, but he never describes the paintings! However, every single time some random person calls Isadora fat, that is included. It's bizarre and really makes the book drag at parts. So these stars are for Isadora.
July 28, 2017
What has assisted the Isadora Duncan mythology to endure for 100 years is her refusal to have her dancing filmed. So we have to rely on the word of those who saw her in action. But there were a lot, & they said/wrote plenty, & the majority of it was glorious. Peter Kurth was able to compile his absolutely amazing biography of an absolutely unique artist largely due to the fact that he was able to draw on so much that was written, at the time, to, by, or about, her. Duncan's was an 'artistic' life with no, to my knowledge, parallel & nothing I can add to that will illustrate just how extraordinary it/she was. Which doesn't mean that she was someone I would care to spend any actual time with. Narcissistic, irresponsible, & capricious, she captivated/infuriated audiences around the world &, in spite of the huge amounts of money she often earned, usually lived her life at other people's expense. During a time when the suffragette movement was fighting for a woman's right to vote Duncan lived a profligate, promiscuous, life &, to a large extent, invented her own rules. She came from an eccentric, bohemian, family (no surprise) but raised the bar at an incredibly early life - she opened her first school of dance at age 16 - & is largely regarded as the 'mother' of modern dance. When she died, at 50, she was still dancing but her magic was on the wane. It might have been a blessing that she didn't last any longer because it's doubtful she could have existed if she was no longer able to practise her art. A life story like no other I have ever read. And there have been plenty. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2007
it took me a long time to read this book... months and months. I started at the beginning, but couldn't get through, so I started in the middle, then got interested so started again from the beginning, to get the background on what I had read in the middle. For me, the time in history is interesting, the art is interesting, some of the names are familiar, and it's interesting to get another perspective on the times. Isadora comes across as a rather difficult and disagreeable person, so you're not necessarily drawn to love her, but the book was still somehow a compelling read.
May 20, 2009
The definitive Isadora Duncan biography. What more to say? Well researched and well written. The second half is harder to get through, just because it's like watching a train wreck in extra-slow motion. Still, her life is a great subject and certainly deserves such detailed documentation.
September 3, 2024
So thoroughly researched and beautifully written. Thank you, Peter Kurth, for writing this book. I stand on your shoulders (and Isadora's) to write a middle grade picture book. phpowell@talesforallages.com
I'd love to talk to Peter Kurth about his book.
I'd love to talk to Peter Kurth about his book.
January 28, 2018
I gave up on this long ago. Sooooo boring
May 25, 2020
Crazy story about a non-traditional, non-conformist, artist during the golden age. She was fascinating, ambitious and self-destructive. Quite a dramatic life.
October 27, 2012
The sensational life of Isadora Duncan told with perfect clarity, as you admire one of the greatest dancers of her time.
Isadora was as beautiful dancing as she was a person, being one of the most remarkable individuals and talented dancers of her time, perhaps of all time. She was the matriarch and patron saint of creative self expression, by inventing her own physical language to express the spirit that touched the soul with simple but beautiful movement. She was a pioneer in the dance world, being in possession of a name that is synonymous with originality and distinctiveness, a beholder of spontaneity and intrigue. Her tragic death in nineteen twenty seven came as a shock, as she was strangled by her own scarf during a joyride on the French Riviera; that some say was a dramatically fitting end to a remarkable life. This is an incredible biography of a magnificent, generous and gallant woman who was also sadly fated with a life that was full of tragedy (such as with the drowning of her two children). She was plagued by alcoholism and frowned upon at times with scorn, as she did not always act as she should, especially in one particular instance during an American tour in Boston where she expressed no reserve. This account of a most astounding woman and dancer is very detailed and which uncovers the mystery behind the passionate artist, giving the most accurate account of her life.
Complete with stunning photographs, complimented with a beautiful cover, this is a book to treasure. She brought ancient Greek dancing to life with her energy, skill and expressive dancing that was so full of energy and emotions, making one feel as if they were watching something of myth or legend right in front of their very eyes. It also delves into her personal life, loves and the Duncan school in Grunewald that was such a significant part of her life as she traveled between Greece and Berlin. When she then journeyed to America her story really comes alive, in those moments on stage that will always be remembered. Her constant exploring from France to Vienna and England kept a restless soul at peace, as she continued to raise a family and support her husband whilst retaining that deep seated love for dance. Her second school in Bellevue was a turning point in her career, as she takes on the role of a mothering teacher who guides the next generation forwards with love and the knowledge of her craft. Performances such as La Marseillaise spring to mind, as you think of this iconic figure within dance history, who was a pioneer that established the first foundation blocks.
Just exceptionally brilliant and unforgettable this fantastic biography is one that all dance lovers (both Greek, classical ballet and modern dance) lovers will cherish.
Isadora was as beautiful dancing as she was a person, being one of the most remarkable individuals and talented dancers of her time, perhaps of all time. She was the matriarch and patron saint of creative self expression, by inventing her own physical language to express the spirit that touched the soul with simple but beautiful movement. She was a pioneer in the dance world, being in possession of a name that is synonymous with originality and distinctiveness, a beholder of spontaneity and intrigue. Her tragic death in nineteen twenty seven came as a shock, as she was strangled by her own scarf during a joyride on the French Riviera; that some say was a dramatically fitting end to a remarkable life. This is an incredible biography of a magnificent, generous and gallant woman who was also sadly fated with a life that was full of tragedy (such as with the drowning of her two children). She was plagued by alcoholism and frowned upon at times with scorn, as she did not always act as she should, especially in one particular instance during an American tour in Boston where she expressed no reserve. This account of a most astounding woman and dancer is very detailed and which uncovers the mystery behind the passionate artist, giving the most accurate account of her life.
Complete with stunning photographs, complimented with a beautiful cover, this is a book to treasure. She brought ancient Greek dancing to life with her energy, skill and expressive dancing that was so full of energy and emotions, making one feel as if they were watching something of myth or legend right in front of their very eyes. It also delves into her personal life, loves and the Duncan school in Grunewald that was such a significant part of her life as she traveled between Greece and Berlin. When she then journeyed to America her story really comes alive, in those moments on stage that will always be remembered. Her constant exploring from France to Vienna and England kept a restless soul at peace, as she continued to raise a family and support her husband whilst retaining that deep seated love for dance. Her second school in Bellevue was a turning point in her career, as she takes on the role of a mothering teacher who guides the next generation forwards with love and the knowledge of her craft. Performances such as La Marseillaise spring to mind, as you think of this iconic figure within dance history, who was a pioneer that established the first foundation blocks.
Just exceptionally brilliant and unforgettable this fantastic biography is one that all dance lovers (both Greek, classical ballet and modern dance) lovers will cherish.
Read
December 9, 2014Have you heard the story of how Isadora Duncan died? I thought it was urban legend, so when Kurth’s biography of the woman who invented modern dance appeared, I had to read it to find out the truth. And the truth is even crazier than the story.
Duncan, in the early 1900s, when corsets were still all the rage and dance was ballet, period, burst onto the American and European stages. With her barley-there, Grecian-inspired flowy fabric dresses that allowed the body to breathe – and the watcher to enjoy the form – she transformed forever the way we think of dance. And, while she was at it, Duncan lived her life to the absolute fullest: having affairs with men and women, married and not, making waves with her stance on women’s rights. She lived to dance, was constantly in debt, had absolutely no filter, and people loved her or completely hated her.
But back to the inglorious death. Duncan lived, like other cosmopolitan woman of her time, between the US and Europe. Years before her own death, as she was experiencing (yet another) career resurgence and basking in public adoration in Paris, she kissed her children goodbye for an outing with the nanny, and minutes later learned that the car they were driving in had plunged over the banks of the Seine, submerging and killing both children, and the nanny. But did that stop her from returning to the City of Lights? No! Still reveling with men and women of all ages, nationalities and professions, well into her elder stateswoman years, Duncan was flush with one more love affair. Dashing off into a convertible car, wearing her absolute favorite scarf – “two yards long, five feet wide…heavy crepe…the fringes on either end eighteen inches long….” – in this shawl Duncan felt magic. So she wrapped it round her shoulders, jumped in the racy, low, two-seater, and happily cried, “Goodbye my friends! I go to glory!” The car took off; the long red shawl got caught in the spokes of the wheel; Duncan’s neck was broken and the formidable, glorious woman was gone.
Verdict: Buy, buy buy!
From Buy, Borrow, Bypass: Biographies of Women from the 1920s, Roaring by Alison Peters: http://bookriot.com/2014/12/08/buy-bo...)
Duncan, in the early 1900s, when corsets were still all the rage and dance was ballet, period, burst onto the American and European stages. With her barley-there, Grecian-inspired flowy fabric dresses that allowed the body to breathe – and the watcher to enjoy the form – she transformed forever the way we think of dance. And, while she was at it, Duncan lived her life to the absolute fullest: having affairs with men and women, married and not, making waves with her stance on women’s rights. She lived to dance, was constantly in debt, had absolutely no filter, and people loved her or completely hated her.
But back to the inglorious death. Duncan lived, like other cosmopolitan woman of her time, between the US and Europe. Years before her own death, as she was experiencing (yet another) career resurgence and basking in public adoration in Paris, she kissed her children goodbye for an outing with the nanny, and minutes later learned that the car they were driving in had plunged over the banks of the Seine, submerging and killing both children, and the nanny. But did that stop her from returning to the City of Lights? No! Still reveling with men and women of all ages, nationalities and professions, well into her elder stateswoman years, Duncan was flush with one more love affair. Dashing off into a convertible car, wearing her absolute favorite scarf – “two yards long, five feet wide…heavy crepe…the fringes on either end eighteen inches long….” – in this shawl Duncan felt magic. So she wrapped it round her shoulders, jumped in the racy, low, two-seater, and happily cried, “Goodbye my friends! I go to glory!” The car took off; the long red shawl got caught in the spokes of the wheel; Duncan’s neck was broken and the formidable, glorious woman was gone.
Verdict: Buy, buy buy!
From Buy, Borrow, Bypass: Biographies of Women from the 1920s, Roaring by Alison Peters: http://bookriot.com/2014/12/08/buy-bo...)
June 17, 2012
It took me a while, but it's finally done! The other reviewers have said that it becomes difficult to read about halfway through, because it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion-- that's absolutely right. You fall in love with the woman at the start, and as she slowly bastardizes her beliefs, you just don't want to keep reading. But you do! And by the end, you're very sad that it's over.
To Kurth's credit, I did feel like I came out the other end of this book like a long journey. Although I wasn't a fan of his OVERDEPENDANCE on quotes, and then not attributed every quote in the text (as 50% of the text is made of quotes, it can be difficult...) and his notes section is horribly organized, he did a good job of staying transparent behind his object, and that can be difficult in a biography. Actually, this is the first biography I've gotten through in years. Hooray!
FORGOT TO MENTION THIS BEFORE: the reproductions of art and photographs is this book vary in quality to such a degree that I want to DIE. Sometimes it's like they took a 100x100 image from Google Images thumbnails and blew it up to full page. MADDENING.
To Kurth's credit, I did feel like I came out the other end of this book like a long journey. Although I wasn't a fan of his OVERDEPENDANCE on quotes, and then not attributed every quote in the text (as 50% of the text is made of quotes, it can be difficult...) and his notes section is horribly organized, he did a good job of staying transparent behind his object, and that can be difficult in a biography. Actually, this is the first biography I've gotten through in years. Hooray!
FORGOT TO MENTION THIS BEFORE: the reproductions of art and photographs is this book vary in quality to such a degree that I want to DIE. Sometimes it's like they took a 100x100 image from Google Images thumbnails and blew it up to full page. MADDENING.
April 10, 2008
I was never so relieved as when Isadora finally got her neck twisted like a chicken's at the very end. It was almost (ALMOST) more satisfying than when Anna Karenina was introduced to the train. I say almost only because Isadora was a real person who really got her neck snapped, and therefore I refrained from fully indulging my schadenfreude.
January 29, 2015
Why one would write a biography that makes such an amazing and exotic life boring is beyond me. Peter Kurth manages to do this with his dull writing, I felt like I was reading a text book. A really boring one.
February 16, 2011
This bio of the American modern dance puioneer firmly establishes Issadora Duncan as one of the great pioneering women of the arts. She profoundly infoeunced her time as can be called the mother of modernism, in general.
June 9, 2015
I was sparked to read more about Isadora Duncan based on the mini-bio in John Dos Passos' U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel / 1919 / The Big Money (Library of America).
Bizarre woman. Passable popular biography, but really strange woman.
Bizarre woman. Passable popular biography, but really strange woman.
July 31, 2007
story of dancer, Isadora Duncan
I need to stop making Isadora jokes; they really are in poor taste
I need to stop making Isadora jokes; they really are in poor taste
March 17, 2013
Inspiring in so many ways. Life lived large by someone who wasn't afraid to fly her freak flag.
February 10, 2015
Fantastic read. My fascination with Isadora continues...
July 1, 2016
Great read for anyone interested in dance, ballet, women rights, feminism, history ....
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews