Tragic Muse: Rachel of the Comedie-Francaise

Regarding her subject as a ""cultural construct,"" Brownstein ( Becoming a Heroine ) inquires into the life of Rachel (nee Elisa Felix), the legendary 19th-century French actress (1821-1858), in a book that is less a biography than a scholarly study of the image Rachel presented to the world as the leading tragedienne of the French stage for more than 20 years. Brownstein examines the paradox of the uneducated daughter of Jewish peddlers reviving classical tragedy and performing the works of Corneille and Racine to great critical acclaim in a climate of virulent anti-Semitism. Audiences who thrilled to Rachel's performances also referred to her as money-grubbing and ignorant. Presenting Rachel through the eyes of fans, critics and novelists such as Henry James, Brownstein analyzes the phenomenon of stardom and describes how Rachel used her fame and fortune to enrich her life and rescue her family from poverty. Her long illness and early death from tuberculosis enhanced her reputation as the ""tragic muse."" Illustrations not seen by PW. (May)