The Wilder Shores of Love: The Exotic True-Life Stories of Isabel Burton, Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, Jane Digby, and Isabelle Eberhardt [Paperback]

Lesley Blanch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2002

For the four women included in this classic volume of biography, the wilder shores of love lay east of their native Europe—in Arabia, for Victorian Isabel Arundell, who married the defiantly unorthodox social outlaw and adventurer Burton of Arabia; in a harem, for Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, a convent girl abducted by Corsair pirates and presented to the ruler of the Ottoman Empire; in Bedouin tents and the bed of Sheik Abdul Madjuel El Mezrab for the raffish divorcee Jane Digby; and in the Sahara, for the Russian-born Isabelle Eberhardt, who entered the world of desert Arabs dressed as a man. "Love, wanderlust, faraway places—all that Romance implies—make up this delicious book.... Ideal reading."—Washington Post Book World "A splendid quartet of biographies ... it is as engrossing a literary trip through the exotic East as I have taken."—San Jose Mercury News "'A fabulous quartet' featuring four nineteenth-century women 'who out-dared the heroines of romance novels ... and swayed the course of empires.'"—New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Love, wanderlust, faraway places—all that Romance implies—make up this delicious book. . . . Ideal reading.”

—Washington Post Book World

“Over the years, many full-length biographies of [these] four heroines have been published. . . . But Lesley Blanch’s short, imaginative, and highly poetic account of their lives and personalities remains unsurpassed.”

—The Independent (London)

“An exuberantly colorful book.”

—Orville Prescott, The New York Times --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Lesley Blanch was a distinguished writer, painter, drama critic, and Vogue editor. The author of twelve books, includihng Pierre Loti and The Sabres of Paradise, she died in 2007. To learn more about Lesley, visit her website at www.lesleyblanch.com. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710306
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710300
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating lives of western women in exotic locales, August 2, 2002

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wilder Shores of Love: The Exotic True-Life Stories of Isabel Burton, Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, Jane Digby, and Isabelle Eberhardt (Paperback)

These accounts of four western women and how they lived in exotic lands serve best as an introduction, not as a particularly authoritative reference.

Definitely more high-brow than romance novels, if only by virtue of being true personalities, this book is a welcome bit of romantic escapism. Despite the fact that the author clearly admires and reveres these intelligent and adventurous women, the book disappoints on a couple of fronts. The writing (nearly half a century old) is peppered with somewhat embarassing colonial language about native beauty, genetically determined intelligence, and primitive sexiness. No blatant racism here, but plenty of indulgent speculation that comes off poorly today.

I found it annoying that the author used French liberally but without any attempt at translation; this usually appears in quotations and with a disclaimer that the flavor of the original language would be lost in any translation. I disagree: a skilled translator could handle it beautifully.

I personally enjoyed these accounts of the lives of women who ventured beyond the realm of other western women, who supported great men, or who even changed the course of history. But I felt I had received only part of the stories. I have yet to find more writings about these women, but I am sure they are out there. A very entertaining introduction to each subject's life.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Romantic collection of biographies, July 3, 2001

By 

Meredith Mani (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wilder Shores of Love (Paperback)

This book will stay with you for a long time. The lives of the women were remarkable, interesting, glamorous and ahead of their time. Wilder Shores details lives less ordinary and in doing so evokes a strong emotional tie to the reader. It's the kind of book that allows one to imagine, to really put themselves emotionally and physically, having lived a life of adventure and daring. What is striking is that these women would never have said that about their own lives. Times were different and they paid a price for living life on their terms and defined by their hearts. I highly suggest this rich and rewarding book. You will learn with this book as well as find yourself entertained. I too read this book years ago and sought it out again. Now that I have a copy it is part of my personal library.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What happened to the illustrations?, May 16, 2007

By 

Domesticrat (cincinnati, oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wilder Shores of Love: The Exotic True-Life Stories of Isabel Burton, Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, Jane Digby, and Isabelle Eberhardt (Paperback)

I wouldn't have known about this book if I hadn't read Lesley Blanch's recent obit in the NY Times (May 11, 2007). It sounded too good to pass up, and it's a great read. Her writing style, for a biography, is over the top even for 50 years ago, but it's obvious she was enjoying herself in the telling, and it's a very readable book. HOWEVER, as soon as you read Ms Blanch's intro, you find a reference to an illustration, but when you check the book for pictures, there are none. Turns out the hardcover first ed. had pictures, and some subsequent paperback editions printed in England kept the illustrations, but the newer paperback editions dumped them. Well, shame on Scribners for not including them! It does take something away from the narrative not to be able to see whatever the author was able to locate on the women, whether photos or portraits. But still an entertaining read.