Sarah Bernhardt: A Biographical and Critical Sketch

This book is a biographical and critical sketch of Sarah Bernhardt, which was published in 1891 and written by Austin Brereton, English drama critic and theater manager. Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress who at the beginning of the 20th century was called "the most famous actress in history." The purpose of the author in issuing this memoir was twofold. First, the public has a natural desire to know something about the career of every artist who has visited this country. This desire is intensified when an artist is as famous as Sarah Bernhardt. At the time of the book's publication, her accomplishments were not known as well. She is the heroine of a thousand and one anecdotes, some of them dubious, but only a few of them are true. As for her stage life, not that much information has been published so far. Biographical dictionaries contain only superficial information about the greatest French actress since the "divine Rachel". This publication is the first most honest and unbiased book containing as exhaustive memoirs of this famous actress as possible. The second purpose of the author in writing this memoir was born out of the desire to pay tribute to the genius of the actress, who gave the author, like many others, profound pleasure. In fulfilling his duties as a drama critic in London, the author was fortunate to witness the most important events of the scene for several remarkable years. The author kept in mind the memories of Sarah Bernhardt in most of her outstanding characters. Thus, we can conclude that the author did not write about her out of ignorance. This work was a labor of love and the author spared no effort to achieve accuracy with regard to facts. Also, the edition is decorated with beautiful illustrations that accompany the memoirs.