Can I read Ophelia's Fan : a Novel on EtoBox?

Ophelia's Fan : a Novel by Balint Ph.D., Christine is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Ophelia's Fan : a Novel about?

"Reconstructs the vibrantly intoxicating atmosphere of the theatrical world in the early nineteenth century. Lavishly romantic." -- Booklist Christine Balint reimagines the bittersweet life of Harriet Smithson, the tragedienne who brought Shakespeare to the French. Born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1800, Harriet is left in the care of the elderly priest Father Barrett, and is brought up on Lamb's Shakespeare, lime-sherbet sweets, and prayer. A child of traveling players, her ultimate inheritance is Covent Garden, London, the green room, and the theater's rough magic. With the arrival of Charles Kemble's English Theatre troupe in Paris in 1827, the Odeon Theatre is awash with the drama and music of Shakespeare. Harriet is Ophelia. The French Romantics swoon, traffic stops, and the high-society women plait straw in their hair in honor of her mad Ophelia. The fiery composer Hector Berlioz falls in love. In Ophelia's Fan , Balint re-creates the texture and breadth of the nineteenth century and brings alive Harriet Smithson; the actress and the woman, her roles and her loves. Reading group guide included.

Who reads Ophelia's Fan : a Novel?

Author

Balint Ph.D., Christine

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated

Published

2005

Language

EN

ISBN

9780393327663

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Fiction, Music, Historical Fiction

Rating

3.01 / 5 (63 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14