Behind Every Great Man

March 15, 2015

Wagman-Geller (teacher, Sweet Water High Sch.; And the Rest Is History) delivers engaging profiles of the wives and mistresses of some of recent history's most prominent men. The author examines an array of 40 women, many overlooked by history, who were partners of politicians, literary greats, entertainment stars, and notorious figures from the 19th through the 21st century. Included are accounts of the royal Prussian beauty who married Karl Marx only to live in abject poverty, the teenager who won the heart of the much older Charlie Chaplin, and the long-suffering wife of the Ponzi scheming Bernie Madoff. Spousal biographies with a more limited scope exist, such as Alexandra Popoff's The Wives. Additionally, recent novels about the other halves of such titans as Frank Lloyd Wright (Nancy Horan's Loving Frank) and Ernest Hemingway (Paula McClain's The Paris Wife) have topped best seller lists. However, by and large, history has neglected the stories of the influential women who were consorts of the famous. VERDICT This uniquely diverse collection of succinct biographies, with its often lighthearted style, will captivate readers curious about the fascinating females who were associated with some of the world's most remarkable men.--Mary Jennings, Camano Island Lib., WA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
Recognizing the truth behind the cliche, Wagman-Geller profiles 40 women whose lives were every bit as noteworthy as their famous husbands'. In short biographical sketches, she tells the stories of famous men from the perspectives of the womenthe unsung boosters, supporters, and influencersin their lives. Among the women are Constance Lloyd, married to famously gay Oscar Wilde; the wife of Mohandas Gandhi, Kasturba Kapadia, who died in prison for her role in resisting British imperialism; Eva Braun, longtime lover and short-lived wife of Adolf Hitler; Renee-Pelagie de Montreuil, wife of the Marquis de Sade, who lived in a convent so he could live in luxury; Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, wives of the ever-marrying Henry VIII; the wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, Fanny Vandergrift Osbourne, who traveled with him to Samoa; and the aristocratic wife of Karl Marx, Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny von Westphalen, who suffered with him through poverty. The collection spans time and geography and encompasses politics, the arts, and finance to offer a fascinating look at the sisterhood of the women behind famous men.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)