Psappha: A Novel of Sappho (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this superb page-turner reminiscent of the great Mary renault, Peggy Ullman bell brings tolife one of the most exciting and fascinating figures of the ancent world, Sappho, "the Poetess." A woman who challenged convention, Sappho redefined the role of women in Ancient Greece.

"Psappha" will surely rank as one of the best historical novels of this year. What makes it all the more extraordinary is that this assured work marks Peggy Ullman Bell's debut as a novelist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Upstart Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970127499
• ISBN-13: 978-0970127495
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,229,266 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A life of Sappho, January 5, 2001

By	"blissengine" (Norfolk, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

There is not much known about the life of Psappha (apparently a more accurate spelling of Sappho). Bell's book imagines Psappha's life, keeping rather true to the facts that are known. Psappha is exiled from her homeland of Lesbos, and ends up in what's now Sicily. She marries a man, becomes lovers with an African warrior queen (Gyla), and has a daughter. After the death of her beloved husband, Psappha begins teaching and becomes the famous Poetess we now know her to be. She and her entourage travel back to Lesbos to continue the teachings, and Psappha lives her life there with her African queen, and in Gyla's absence, becomes lovers with a fisherman. Bell gives us a heroic, yet tragic end for Psappha and her beloved warrior queen, which feels a bit melodramatic. Bell writes beautifully, and several passages in the novel are rather evocative of life in Psappha's time, and yet this style isn't continuous throughout. Overall, this book is a delightful and heartening story of one woman's journey to happiness.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Long Last, a Real Psappha........, October 23, 2000

By	Karen Ruhloff (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Finally! I didn't need to dredge through innuendos, fragments and 'assumed knowledge' about the great poetess! Ms. Bell has given us all a very real and warm Woman to lend deeper meaning to Psappha's history. The historical and social detailing that obviously went into this book are truly helpful to those of us wanting a setting to try and understand the emotional and sensual growing pains of an artist so central to Art history and Womens' history in particular. Thanks to Ms. Bell, we now have it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I can think of several adjectives: good is not one of them, December 6, 2000

By	Bridget Nilssen (Bethlehem, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Some adjectives that do come to mind: melodramatic, torrid, anachronistic, unbelievable. After the rave reviews below, I expected something a whole lot better than what this turned out to be. Frankly, it was hard to finish. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Sappho as poet "has the power of standing aloof and critically judging her own ecstasies and pains; but her emotions lose nothing of their force by being recollected in comparative tranquillity" -- but don't look for that kind of emotional self-control here. As a lesbian, I'd have been delighted to find a good historical novel about Sappho that didn't try to "straighten her out," but I'm unwilling to opt for one that depicts her as a circa 600 BC lesbian Harlequin romance heroine. The other characters are just as poorly drawn. I'm very disappointed.