SYLVIA JUKES MORRIS is the author of Edith Kermit Roosevelt and Rage for Fame- The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce. She lives with her husband, Edmund Morris, in New York City.
" 'Throughout her life she had aimed for the best of everything and
usually gotten it, ' Sylvia Jukes Morris writes. . . . Clare Boothe
Luce was an
actress-editrix-playwright-screenwriter-congresswoman-ambassador-presidential
adviser. And as the wife of Henry Luce, father of the Time empire,
she was the clever half of the predominant power couple of the
mid-twentieth century."--Maureen Dowd, The New York Times Book
Review "In Price of Fame, the second volume of her stellar
biography of [Luce], Sylvia Jukes Morris takes up the story she
began in Rage for Fame, published 17 years ago. Both books are
models of the biographer's art--meticulously researched,
sophisticated, fair-minded and compulsively readable."--Edward
Kosner, The Wall Street Journal "Sylvia Jukes Morris's brilliant
biography . . . tracks the last half of its subject's life with
dexterity. . . . Luce was as serious about her faith as she was
about civil rights. But Morris never lets us forget that she was
also a wit par excellence. . . . Read the gems sprinkled throughout
Price of Fame."--Peter Tonguette, The Christian Science Monitor
"There's a thrilling kind of energy in watching this ruthlessly
self-made life take shape, an energy that is matched and reversed
in Price of Fame, as celebrity just as ruthlessly takes its
toll."--Joanna Scutts, The Washington Post "Morris's cool portrait
is eminently fair, depicting Luce's faults and fine points with
equal detachment."--Wendy Smith, The Daily Beast "Clare Boothe Luce
[was] one of the twentieth century's most ambitious, unstoppable
and undeniably ingenious characters. . . . This full, warts-and-all
biography hauls her back into the limelight and does her full
justice."--Janet Maslin, The New York Times "It is the author's
steady, sensitive handling of the material, told with humor and
objectivity, that makes this biography so poignant and profound. .
. . [Price of Fame] is nothing short of a triumph."--Marion
Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times "Morris's shrewd portrait
shows a woman of extraordinary contrasts. . . . She presents a
clear-eyed assessment of Luce's strong, egotistical
personality."--Publishers Weekly "With this second and concluding
volume of her biography of Clare Boothe Luce, Sylvia Jukes Morris
completes the tantalizing saga of a woman who helped define the
'pushy broad' in a century when men made the rules. . . . The
result is an impeccably researched and thoughtfully written epic
that crackles with the energy that defined her subject."--Amy
Henderson, The Weekly Standard "Beauty was an asset Clare Boothe
Luce used to her political (and financial) advantage. But so, too,
were the other characteristics summed up by Sylvia Jukes Morris. .
.: 'charm, humour, coquetry, intellect, ambition.' [She was] a
woman gifted with intelligence and drive, but marred by narcissism
and scarred by a constant sense of loneliness. There is a moving
account of Luce's conversion to Catholicism and a persuasive
analysis of her role as ambassador to Rome in resolving the
post-war status of Trieste."--The Economist "Morris, who was given
exclusive access to Luce's diaries and papers, published her first
biographical volume of this remarkable woman's life [in 1997]. It
concluded with Luce's election to Congress. This long-awaited
sequel tells about the political and personal events in the last
half of the subject's life, thoroughly describing traumatic losses,
romantic dalliances, and marital struggles that consumed both Luce
and her husband for nearly all of their remaining years together. .
. . Readers who liked Rage for Fame and longed for more about this
talented, determined woman will enjoy the full attention the author
devotes to this work. Those interested in mid-century political
history, too, will find much to reward their perseverance in this
long but fascinating biography."--Library Journal "If Clare Boothe
Luce, with her lowly origins and blinding ambition, hadn't existed,
she might have sprung fully formed from the imagination of Henry
James. . . . Sylvia Jukes Morris has written [a] clear-eyed account
of this complicated and self-contradictory figure, one who had
everything a person could wish for and still experienced great
unhappiness. . . . This is a fascinating, close-up look at a woman
whose prodigious gifts were used in the service of her appetites
for wealth, fame, and power . . . a stylish striver whose blond
ambition has not yet been matched in its scope by any woman who has
come after her."--Daphne Merkin, BookForum "Believe me, the 'good
stuff' is here, in this second volume. In dazzling, devastating
spades. . . . What makes Price of Fame so riveting is that one
literally doesn't know what to make of Clare Boothe Luce. . . . My
jaw dropped over and over again. . . . Her soul was restless,
unquiet. But despite dark moments of despair--and the fact that
many who knew her and loved her, found her essentially a tragic
figure--she carried a genuine life force. [Here] is one of the most
fabulous, intimate biographies I have ever read. If you're
interested in the twentieth-century history of this country, seen
through the eyes and actions of a remarkable woman, this book is
for you. If you crave tales of psychological unhingement amid the
best of everything, you won't be disappointed either!"--Liz Smith,
Chicago Tribune
Throughout her life she had aimed for the best of everything and
usually gotten it, Sylvia Jukes Morris writes. . . . Clare Boothe
Luce was an
actress-editrix-playwright-screenwriter-congresswoman-ambassador-presidential
adviser. And as the wife of Henry Luce, father of the Time empire,
she was the clever half of the predominant power couple of the
mid-twentieth century. Maureen Dowd, The New York Times Book
Review
In Price of Fame, the second volume of her stellar biography of
[Luce], Sylvia Jukes Morris takes up the story she began in Rage
for Fame, published 17 years ago. Both books are models of the
biographer s art meticulously researched, sophisticated,
fair-minded and compulsively readable. Edward Kosner, The Wall
Street Journal
Sylvia Jukes Morris s brilliant biography . . . tracks the last
half of its subject s life with dexterity. . . . Luce was as
serious about her faith as she was about civil rights. But Morris
never lets us forget that she was also a wit par excellence. . . .
Read the gems sprinkled throughout Price of Fame. Peter Tonguette,
The Christian Science Monitor
There s a thrilling kind of energy in watching this ruthlessly
self-made life take shape, an energy that is matched and reversed
in Price of Fame, as celebrity just as ruthlessly takes its toll.
Joanna Scutts, The Washington Post
Morris s cool portrait is eminently fair, depicting Luce s faults
and fine points with equal detachment. Wendy Smith, The Daily
Beast
Clare Boothe Luce [was] one of the twentieth century s most
ambitious, unstoppable and undeniably ingenious characters. . . .
This full, warts-and-all biography hauls her back into the
limelight and does her full justice. Janet Maslin, The New York
Times
It is the author s steady, sensitive handling of the material, told
with humor and objectivity, that makes this biography so poignant
and profound. . . . [Price of Fame] is nothing short of a triumph.
Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times
Morris s shrewd portrait shows a woman of extraordinary contrasts.
. . . She presents a clear-eyed assessment of Luce s strong,
egotistical personality. Publishers Weekly
With this second and concluding volume of her biography of Clare
Boothe Luce, Sylvia Jukes Morris completes the tantalizing saga of
a woman who helped define the pushy broad in a century when men
made the rules. . . . The result is an impeccably researched and
thoughtfully written epic that crackles with the energy that
defined her subject. Amy Henderson, The Weekly Standard
Beauty was an asset Clare Boothe Luce used to her political (and
financial) advantage. But so, too, were the other characteristics
summed up by Sylvia Jukes Morris. . .: charm, humour, coquetry,
intellect, ambition. [She was] a woman gifted with intelligence and
drive, but marred by narcissism and scarred by a constant sense of
loneliness. There is a moving account of Luce s conversion to
Catholicism and a persuasive analysis of her role as ambassador to
Rome in resolving the post-war status of Trieste. The Economist
Morris, who was given exclusive access to Luce s diaries and
papers, published her first biographical volume of this remarkable
woman s life [in 1997]. It concluded with Luce s election to
Congress. This long-awaited sequel tells about the political and
personal events in the last half of the subject s life, thoroughly
describing traumatic losses, romantic dalliances, and marital
struggles that consumed both Luce and her husband for nearly all of
their remaining years together. . . . Readers who liked Rage for
Fame and longed for more about this talented, determined woman will
enjoy the full attention the author devotes to this work. Those
interested in mid-century political history, too, will find much to
reward their perseverance in this long but fascinating biography.
Library Journal
If Clare Boothe Luce, with her lowly origins and blinding ambition,
hadn t existed, she might have sprung fully formed from the
imagination of Henry James. . . . Sylvia Jukes Morris has written
[a] clear-eyed account of this complicated and self-contradictory
figure, one who had everything a person could wish for and still
experienced great unhappiness. . . . This is a fascinating,
close-up look at a woman whose prodigious gifts were used in the
service of her appetites for wealth, fame, and power . . . a
stylish striver whose blond ambition has not yet been matched in
its scope by any woman who has come after her. Daphne Merkin,
BookForum
Believe me, the good stuff is here, in this second volume. In
dazzling, devastating spades. . . . What makes Price of Fame so
riveting is that one literally doesn t know what to make of Clare
Boothe Luce. . . . My jaw dropped over and over again. . . . Her
soul was restless, unquiet. But despite dark moments of despair and
the fact that many who knew her and loved her, found her
essentially a tragic figure she carried a genuine life force.
[Here] is one of the most fabulous, intimate biographies I have
ever read. If you re interested in the twentieth-century history of
this country, seen through the eyes and actions of a remarkable
woman, this book is for you. If you crave tales of psychological
unhingement amid the best of everything, you won t be disappointed
either! Liz Smith, Chicago Tribune"
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