Margaret Crosland

"The intimate, often harrowing life-story of one of the world's greatest singers. Jean Cocteau said of Edith Piaf that she was a nightingale, and that her singing reminded him more of the wind, the sun and the stars than the voice of a woman. Here was one of the top international singers of her day, popular around the world for such hits as 'Non, je ne regrette rien'. How was it possible for Piaf, 'the Kid Sparrow' from an obscure Parisian background, to rise to such heights?" "Margaret Crosland's definitive biography sheds new light on the phenomenon that was Piaf, enlarging on and in some cases correcting the half-truths provided by Piaf in her two autobiographies, The Wheel of Fortune and My Life. Piaf's rise to international stardom, her lifelong addiction to alcohol and drugs including morphine, and her many turbulent love affairs are documented, as are her friendships with such stars as Cocteau, Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, Yves Montand and Charlie Chaplin. Crosland concludes with a moving description of her early death at the age of forty-seven, when some two million fans followed the funeral procession to Pere Lachaise cemetery."--Jacket.

"Jane Shore has been mentioned by Shakespeare in Richard III and fictionalised by Jean Plaidy. But little is known of her beyond her name and the fact that she was mistress to Edward IV. In the first complete biography of Jane Shore, acclaimed author Margaret Crosland looks at the woman behind the myth, examining how she has been transformed in legend and history. Who was she? Where did she come from? And, having been mistress to the most powerful man in the land, why did she end up in prison and poverty?" "Jane was middle class, which was very unusual for a medieval royal mistress. The daughter of a successful merchant in Cheapside, her arranged marriage to younger merchant William Shore was annulled on the grounds of his importance. With her 'pleasant behaviour' and 'proper wit' she managed to hold the interest of notorious womaniser Edward IV for twelve years. Sir Thomas More claimed that she stood out among the king's mistresses for one simple reason. 'For many he had, but her he loved ...'" "When the king died unexpectedly, Jane's social status meant that she was an easy target for Edward's successor Richard III. Richard had Jane arrested for treason, accused of sorcery twice imprisoned, and forced her to do penance for her 'sinful' life by walking barefoot and half naked through London. She was rescued by a second marriage to the King's Solicitor Thomas Lynam, which did not please Richard." "After her death, Jane Shore became the subject and target of literature: Thomas More vindicated her; Nicholas Rowe wrote a popular drama about her and even the adolescent Jane Austen mentioned her a early writings." "Margaret Crosland sheds new light on the woman who had an incredible rise and fall through the strict hierarchy of medieval society and whose life became the subject of art and literature through the centuries."--BOOK JACKET.

Interesante biografía de la cantante francesa Edith Piaf, narrada desde la perspectiva de su media hermana Simone Berteaut, con quien compartió prácticamente toda su vida, desde los inicios como cantante en las calles de París hasta su prematura muerte. La narración es ágil, sencilla, sin pretensiones académicas y permite una perspectiva muy íntima de la vida de uno de los íconos de la canción francesa, formadora de grandes cantantes como Gilbert Becaud, Charles Aznavour y George Moustaki, entre otros muchos.