Goddess

September 1, 2015

YA author Gardiner makes her adult fiction debut with a humdinger of a subject: Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), the sword-wielding, cross-dressing, bisexual opera star of 17th-century France. Raised in the stables of Louis XIV, d'Aubigny escapes poverty and abuse by attaching herself to a variety of lovers, from the King's Master of Horse to her fencing instructor to the daughter of a nobleman. She hurtles from one adventure to another until she lands in a convent at age 33, reflecting on her life to a priest who has come to give her final absolution. While Gardiner's historical research is impressive, the characterization of d'Aubigny as a consummate actor oddly keeps the reader at a distance. She successfully reinvented herself multiple times and was driven by passion, but the deathbed confessional device makes the telling of her story seem more performative than revealing. VERDICT With her transgressive actions and devil-may-care attitude, d'Aubigny's life seems almost tailor-made for fans of historical fiction.--Liza Oldham, Beverly, MA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 5, 2001
Even if it weren't competing head-to-head with two other Madonna biographies by titans in their fields (J. Randy Taraborrelli's Madonna: An Intimate Biography
and Andrew Morton's Madonna), this overstuffed and plodding chronicle of the ever-morphing entertainer is sure to try the patience of most fans. Using the filming of Evita
as a touchstone, Victor ceaselessly links much in Madonna's life to the struggle to make that film. Unconvinced readers may suspect the heavy emphasis is merely because Victor was in Argentina when the filming began in 1996 and at that point she
decided to pen Madonna's life story. The lion's share of the tome is devoted to the pre-celebrity life of Madonna Louise Ciccone, the third of eight children raised in a large traditional Italian household in Michigan. Her mother died of breast cancer when Madonna was only six years old, leaving a void and obsession that both haunted and drove the future star toward her desire to be a dancer and then a singer and actress. Victor's erratic continuity will be a challenge for fans who like linear biographies. Although the author focuses on Madonna's life in New York before the release of her first album in 1983, numerous incidents provoke Victor to push readers decades forward and back with dizzying effect. Madonna has obligingly provided a storybook happy ending, with the Material Girl now happily married (to director Guy Ritchie) and a mother of two, living in the U.K. (Nov. 6)Forecast:Fans not already sated by Taraborrelli's fast-moving, admiring account may skip this one and wait for Morton's higher-profile release also in November.