The Lives of the Muses: Nine women and the artists they inspired

“Refreshing … a wonderful work of revisionist biography.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Prose taps into the power of nine in this inspired book.” - Art News

“Richly drawn … Prose approaches the artist-muse relationship with respect and wonder.” - Gotham Magazine

“Entertaining … Prose’s indignation, intelligence, scorching wit and critical insight have full play.” - Washington Post Book World

“Packed with fascinating details.” - Columbus Dispatch

“Prose make a remarkable case for the exceptionality of these women in their own right.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Sad, glamorous and entirely riveting.” - Newsweek

“Lively and compassionate” - Entertainment Weekly

“A remarkable book…piquant, intelligent, provocative–and sometimes haunting.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Francine Prose humanizes nine women who, in some cases, have been idealized beyond recognition. Hurrah for real women.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“Juicy reading …. a thoroughly researched, highly opinionated series of fascinating double biographies.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review

“A supple work of cultural history.” - Time magazine

“Exceptionally well researched … an elegant study.” - Book Forum

“Prose has done a great service in her just reconsideration of the rather strange, complicated role of the muse.” - San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

“With elegance, eloquence and majesty, Prose has give us a glimpse of the tangled webs of art and Eros.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A stylish assessment of nine very different women who appear to have made the alchemy of art possible.” - Stacy Schiff, New York Times Book Review

“Rollicking … Almost too much fun to read.” - Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

“Stylish writing … a clear-eyed view .. cherry-picked examples.” - USA Today

“A wonderful combination of argument and literary portraiture.” - Wall Street Journal

Francine Prose is the author of twenty-one works of fiction including, most recently, the highly acclaimed novel, MISTER MONKEY, and the New York Times bestselling novel, LOVERS AT THE CHAMELEON CLUB, PARIS 1932. Her novel A CHANGED MAN won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and BLUE ANGEL was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her works of nonfiction include the highly praised ANNE FRANK: THE BOOK, THE LIFE, THE AFTERLIFE, and the New York Times bestseller READING LIKE A WRITER, which has become a classic. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She lives in New York City.

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