Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller

by Judith Thurman

Overview

Judith Thurman’s brilliant, National Book Award–winning biography of Isak Dinesen—now with a new foreword by the author

A brilliant literary portrait, Isak Dinesen remains the only comprehensive biography of one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Dinesen’s magnificent memoir, Out of Africa, established her as a major twentieth-century author, who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize.

With exceptional grace, Judith Thurman’s classic work explores Dinesen’s life. Until the appearance of this book, the life and art of Isak Dinesen have been—as Dinesen herself wrote of two lovers in a tale—“a pair of locked caskets, each containing the key to the other.” Judith Thurman has provided the master key to them both.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250857095
Publisher:	Picador
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	528
Sales rank:	1,074,104
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Judith Thurman is the author of Left-Handed Woman, Cleopatra’s Nose: 39 Varieties of Desire, and Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette. A staff writer at The New Yorker, she lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xix

Note on Citations xxi

Genealogical Charts xxiii

Book 1 Tanne

Introduction 5

1 Either/Or 6

2 The Captain 13

3 A Family Romance 22

4 "Alkmene" 30

5 Three Sisters 36

6 The Road to Katholm 46

7 Aunt Bess 58

8 Art and Life 65

9 Countess Daisy 70

10 First Tales 76

11 Love, Humble and Audacious 85

12 Rue Boccador 91

13 "La Valse Mauve" 98

14 Noble Prospects 104

Book 1 TAnia

15 Sea Change 113

16 A Still Country 118

17 The Clear Darkness 122

18 Safari Life 130

19 Lucifer's Child 136

20 The Wing of Death 144

21 Dramatis Personae 149

22 Intermezzo 160

23 Thomas 164

24 Kamante and Lulu 169

25 A Love of Parallels 184

26 Nature and the Ideal 190

27 Holding Out 203

28 A Release from Self 212

29 Lion Hunt 218

30 Visitors to the Farm 224

31 Spirits of the Air 236

32 Closing the Parentheses 242

Book 3 Isak Dinesen

33 Amor Fati 255

34 Seven Gothic Tales 263

35 In a Dark Wood 274

36 Out of Africa 282

37 Winter's Tales 293

38 Life in a Cage 306

39 Heretics 313

40 Death of a Centaur 326

41 Folie à Deux 334

42 Goddess and Barfly 347

43 "The Immortal Story" 356

44 The Pact Is Broken 363

45 Betrayals 372

46 Should Not My Mind Keep the Knots? 380

Book 4 Pellegrina

47 Baksheesh 393

48 Echoes 397

49 "Tempests" 410

50 Isak Dinesen in America 417

51 Homeless 428

52 Wings 435

Citations 444

Works by Isak Dinesen 470

Selected Bibliography 473

Index 477

Editorial Reviews

This, like the best biographies, is a book in which the reader can live.” —Margaret Drabble, The New York Times Book Review

“Splendid, inestimably valuable . . . I cannot imagine that it will be supplanted. Right now it is the essential book on Isak Dinesen.” —Chicago Tribune Book World

“Absorbing biography . . . This is a gothic tale worthy of the author of Seven Gothic Tales.” —Victoria Glendinning, The Washington Post Book World

From the Publisher

Engaging and scholarly, Thurman’s biography is a rich portrait of the famed author’s life and works. Thurman cites personal letters, family documents and unpublished manuscripts in an effort to give an inside view of Isak Dinesen’s family, friends and lifestyle. Davina Porter skillfully navigates the text, carrying listeners from turn-of- the-century Denmark to pre-WWII Africa. Listening to Porter is like hearing an aristrocratic grand dame reminisce about a personal friend over tea. Her narrative style epitomizes the grace, polish and eloquence of Dinesen’s own writings. The reading is always consistent. Pacing is smooth, clear and thoughtful, allowing listeners to gain intimacy with the subject without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. J.S.G. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine

NOV/DEC 97 - AudioFile