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A review by aoosterwyk
Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars by Catherine Clinton
4.0
My school book club is reading Day of Tears by Julius Lester, so I wanted to get familiar with the back matter. This biography was a great start. The writing was clear and chronological and I was impressed by how many famous people Fanny Kemble had in her circle. The rags to riches to rags cycle was dizzying, but I was left with an impression of how important it was to record the day to day events of life, along with notable political affairs. This was then what reality TV is today.
Fanny Kemble came from a notable family of English actors who transformed British theatre to a higher art form. She came to the United States to support her family and was courted by a wealthy southern land/slaveholder. The story is all about class and race and gender issues. Fanny is an individual, but also a product of her time.
This is the best way to learn about history, having it come alive as it affects a person you come to care about. Catherine Clinton never allows the pace to slow or the story to become dull. I was left satisfied that Fanny Kemble had lived her life to the full, tragic or happy and that she had done the best she could in the time she had.
Fanny Kemble came from a notable family of English actors who transformed British theatre to a higher art form. She came to the United States to support her family and was courted by a wealthy southern land/slaveholder. The story is all about class and race and gender issues. Fanny is an individual, but also a product of her time.
This is the best way to learn about history, having it come alive as it affects a person you come to care about. Catherine Clinton never allows the pace to slow or the story to become dull. I was left satisfied that Fanny Kemble had lived her life to the full, tragic or happy and that she had done the best she could in the time she had.