Sappho: The Tenth Muse [Paperback]

Nancy Freedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2001

In this finely drawn portrait, Sappho of Lesbos narrates her extraordinary life, from her childhood in war-torn Mitylene to her later relentless search for passionate love. Driven by the all-consuming fever of her Muse-inspired poetic gift, Sappho leads the reader on a journey that is at once turbulent and divine, desperate and sensuous. With breathtaking lucidity and great leaps of imagination, Nancy Freedman shows us a Sappho we have never known -- and one we will never forget. The toast of kings for her verse, Sappho was also a shrewd businesswoman, an educator, an advocate of women's equality, and a rebel who was banished from her island home. Remembering her solely as a lesbian icon reveals only one aspect of her multifaceted personality. Here, finally, Nancy Freedman gives us the complete Sappho. She was arguably the most accomplished lyric poet of the ancient world, but her writing was all but destroyed by the early Church. Only in this century have fragments been uncovered, so that we too may glimpse the force of this strangely enigmatic woman. Contradictory in nature, she inspired equally passionate adoration and loathing; her fame brought her a series of obsessive loves. Her relations with women are well known, but it was for the love of a man that she set sail to face her destiny.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Classical Greece comes rather luridly to life in Freedman's fictional biography of the Lesbian poet Sappho. Freedman (whose Mrs. Mike remains a classic) sets out to illuminate and humanize the mythical poet by setting the remnants of her corpus, poems and poem-fragments, into the context of her life on Lesbos. Like the Sappho of myth, Freedman's creation is a woman ruled and wrecked by her passions and vanity. Fickle and lustful, she seduces one student after another until, in middle age, she falls in lasting love with Phaon, the young man over whom she eventually kills herself. Laudably, Freedman refuses to judge Sappho or shape this proud, often cruel aristocrat in the image of a modern feminist. Yet one often stumbles over the archaized language of the bookAHomer rendered awkwardly into pseudo-Victorian proseAwhich in overheated moments ("I worship at the very apex of the mound of Aphrodite") slips into the language of the bodice-ripper. More successful than the novel's dialogue or narrative voice are Freedman's speculative reconstructions of Sappho's school and of the occasions that gave rise to her frequently obscure work.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Until now we have had only fragments of Sappho. In this wonderful novel, Freedman (Prima Donna, LJ 2/1/81) brings the ancient poet back to life. We learn about Sappho's childhood in a society with few men because of wars, her exile as a young woman as punishment for political activity, her marriage to a rich aristocrat, and how she bargained with the gods to exchange her friend's life for her daughter's. As in the best historical novels, Freedman includes many period details, but she blends them so well into the texture of the story that the reader feels only emotion, the pull of narrative. "I want, I want, I want": this litany of need spoken by Sappho as a child becomes a recurring theme. Freedman also recounts Sappho's quest for romantic love as an adult among the young, accomplished women of the school she founds on her home island of Lesbos. This novel is ultimately successful because it presents Sappho as a contradictory woman with both virtues and faults, weaving in fragments of Sappho's verse and imparting a radiance and sense of authenticity. Highly recommended.ADoris Lynch, Monroe Cty. P.L., Bloomington, IN
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312303882
• ISBN-13: 978-0312303884
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,678,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sappho, the tenth muse is a difficult book to read., January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sappho: The Tenth Muse (Hardcover)

Freedman's novel reads like non-fiction. 99% of her extensive research appears to have found it's way onto the pages. Within the first 20 pages, Freedman offers a child abuse excuse for The Poetesses later fascination with her own gender. And, in these same 20 pages, Sappho is seen drooling over a collection of muscles and external genitalia with little brains who will eventually exile her from her home. To make matters worse, Freedman ends with the apocraphal story of Sappho and Phaeon (a fiction fabricated by Ovid for the amusement of Rome) For those of us who love The Lesbian, this novel will bring pain, sorrow and little enjoyment. This is not a book I would recommend to lesbians or feminists.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars High hopes, low fulfillment, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sappho: The Tenth Muse (Hardcover)

Since I've always been fascinated with Sappho, I was excited when I came across this book. What a disappointment. The writing is sketchy and unfleshed. The plot seems like little more than an excuse to show Sappho lusting after everyone she comes into contact with. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually got tired of lesbian sex scenes. Worst of all, the character of Sappho herself never becomes real or sympathetic. I had high hopes for this book, and it didn't come close to fulfilling them. There are good points (interweaving of poetry into the text, details of ancient Greek culture, some intriguing insights) but they are far outweighed by bad ones.