Cruel Banquet: The Life and Loves of Frida Strindberg

This is a thoroughly engrossing biography of Frida Uhl Strindberg (1872-1943), the famous playwright's second wife, whom Strauss portrays as a kind of feminist heroine, a woman of independence and sensuality in an era when these qualities were not admired in women. Frida, then in her early 20s, and August, 20 years her senior, were wed less than two years, but, Strauss, an independent scholar who lives in New York City, argues that this brief and largely painful period in Frida's life would come to epitomize the most basic psychological struggles that drove her in her remaining 40 (unmarried) years. Her marriage to the ""enfant terrible"" of the theater world flew in the face of Frida's father's wishes; August was cruel to Frida, indulging in verbal abuse, both public and private, and incessant attacks of jealousy. Perhaps most notably, Frida struggled with conflicting impulses. Her father encouraged her to think of herself ""as a man,"" that is, to pursue her ambition to write (she was a journalist), to forge connections with some of the most prominent artists of her period (mostly avant-gardists such as Ford Maddox Ford, Ezra Pound and Wyndham Lewis) and to express her opinions strongly. But she was criticized for doing so by those in her world--and by her husband. Strauss's sympathies clearly lie with Frida, but her sympathy seems to blind her to Frida's flaws, which include her tendency to be stubborn and manipulative. Strauss has done impressive research, requiring considerable mastery of four languages, and she gained access to valuable sources housed by her subject's direct relations. Frida's personal archive, only one of numerous primary materials that Strauss has tracked down, adds richness and authenticity to this portrait of a woman who saw life as a ""cruel banquet."" (July)