Marion Meade (1934–2022)

This was hands down one of the best biographies I have ever read. I have long admired Eleanor, the woman who was a queen twice, first in France, and the second being the queen to the formidable Henry II of England. Together they sired eight children, two of them becoming future kings of England in their own right. Boy, what she went through and achieved for her children is truly astounding. She was a formidable woman who knew to pick her battles. She most certainly made some mistakes along the way, but for the time period, when women were mostly kept in the background, Eleanor was always in the forefront. She lived to be 82 years old, quite a feat for the time as well. Before I read this book, my only reference for Eleanor was the famous film, "The Lion in Winter." Even then, I fell in love with the woman she was, and have always wanted to learn more about her. This book gave me that and much more. Not only a biography, but a detailed historical account of her life, and those of her husband, Henry II, and her sons. It definitely made me want to read more about the various figures during her lifetime.… (mer)

It’s hard to figure out just what to make of Dorothy Parker. She was a charter member of the Algonquin Round Table, sort of a 20th century version of the Mermaid Tavern; one of the most incisive book and drama critics of her time (“This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”); an award-winning short story writer; and a poet of many memorable verses (in the “Portable” series of collected works, the only three that have continuously remained in print are The Portable William Shakespeare, The Portable King James Bible, and The Portable Dorothy Parker; that’s not bad company to be in).

At the same time, her personal life was disastrous. She was attracted first to aristocratic seducers and later to much younger men (“Ducking for apples – but for a typographical error, it’s the story of my life”); an alcoholic and chain-smoker; survivor of three suicide attempts (“Razors pain you / Rivers are damp / Acids stain you / Drugs cause cramp / Guns aren’t lawful / Nooses give / Gas smells awful / You might as well live”); pathologically unable to meet a deadline; a dog lover but unwilling to take the time to train them (when one of her dogs defecated on the carpet in a exclusive hotel, the manager rushed up and shouted “Mrs. Parker, look what your dog did!”. She looked him in the eye, replied “No, I did that” and stalked off.); and perennially sponging off her friends whether she was making money at the time or not.

As in most really good biographies, the author (Marion Meade) is transparent; she just reports the facts and lets the story tell itself. If you read this book without ever reading any of Dorothy Parker’s poetry, you might be puzzled how Parker could ever be thought worthy of any acknowledgement at all, much less a postage stamp; if you read her poetry without knowing her life story you’d be missing a lot. Do both.

“Life is a glorious cycle of song
A medley of extemporanea
And love is a thing that can never go wrong
And I am Marie of Roumania”… (mer)