The Art of Scandal: The Life and Times of Isabella Stewart Gardner"The narrative is one long, messy, juicy gossip peppered with exclamations. . . . But gossip is an effective rhetoric for this life. . . . Gardner may have hoped, by burning her letters, to escape capture in yet another book plotted like a novel by Henry James. She might have liked this garrulous, sociable portrait of her time." -- Diane Wood Middlebrook, "New York Times Book Review" (front page review) "This intimate engrossing biography finally gives the creator of one of the world's great museums credit for her achievements. . . . The author's expertise in American cultural history greatly enriches his narrative." "It's the unauthorized story of the grandest of Boston's grand dames that any sentient person wants to read. "The Art of Scandal" has a delightful sense of the city that once was the Athens of America." "He dares to paint in words the woman John Singer Sargent painted on canvas. . . . She is always engagingly human and brimming with life." "Gardner's heretofore fugitive life story is riveting because Shand-Tucci turns out to be erudite, witty, and wise. . . . Shand-Tucci describes her adventures, eccentricities, and resounding success as a muse, mentor, patron, and designer, shedding light on a singular woman and her influential role in the evolution of American culture." |
