The Gilded Edge

May 1, 2021

In early 20th-century Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, explosive and highly regarded poet Nora May French meets the Sterlings: newbie poet George and his put-upon wife, Carrie. Soon they form an unstable love triangle that ends in Nora May's suicide and the deaths of both Sterlings. Prendergast (English, Univ. of Illinois) tells a dramatic story, in particular investigating why French--so prominent at the time that her death inspired numerous copycat scenarios across the nation--is so little known today.

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August 9, 2021
Prendergast (Buying into English), an English professor at the University of Illinois, disentangles the mysterious lives of 1900s “New Women” Nora May French and Caroline “Carrie” Sterling in this high-stakes if uneven account of the Carmel literary colony. Founded in the early 20th century Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif., the colony hosted such writers as Jack London and Upton Sinclair. At its height in 1907, French, who made up a love triangle with Carrie Sterling and her husband George, died by cyanide poisoning—the Sterlings each died by the same means years later. Prendergast sympathetically depicts French, an acclaimed poet of her time, as a woman whose life had been “cursed by the actions of neglectful and malignant men” but maintained her confidence while her male peers offered “scathing and patently misogynistic” responses to her work. Similarly, Sterling, an artist and the hostess of the Carmel writing colony, was branded by the press as the “know-nothing” wife of Bohemian poet George Sterling who tolerated his many indiscretions. While Prendergast’s commentary is sharp, she fails to fill in the gaps of French’s life between her arrival at Carmel and her death, making things feel incomplete. Still, this punchy feminist tribute offers a fascinating look at two forgotten women of the Gilded Age. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Neon Literary.

September 1, 2021
An examination of the issues surrounding an apparent love triangle that ended in death. In this work of narrative nonfiction, Prendergast, a Guggenheim fellow and English professor at the University of Illinois, investigates the circumstances surrounding the Gilded Age suicides of Nora May French, George Sterling, and Carrie Sterling by cyanide ingestion. All three individuals were members of a bohemian writing colony located at Carmel-by-the-Sea on the Monterey Peninsula in California. With diligent research, captivating detail, and a little creative license to fill in the gaps, Prendergast chronicles the events that led to the intersection of these three lives. The author also explores the myth and illusion associated with the creation of the writing colony, which would "become famous for hosting Jack London, Upton Sinclair, and Sinclair Lewis." The text reads like a dramatic novel fueled by sex, alcohol, and quests for fame and fortune. The region was experiencing a time of expansion and recovery, with the rise of the women's suffrage movement and the upheaval following the catastrophic 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. As one personal disappointment seemed to follow another, these individuals resolved themselves to their fates. Regarding the mythology surrounding the writing colony, Prendergast writes, "the photo of London, Sterling, Austin, and Hopper in front of the beach house is simply the shot on which the Carmel myth is made, reprinted often in books about Carmel's founding and turn-of-the-century Bohemian California....It really does seem as if these writers are engaged in spontaneous conversation." Periodically, the author interjects herself into the story to provide insight regarding the results of her research, particularly in situations in which evidence was difficult to find or had seemingly been destroyed by men attempting to preserve their reputations. A well-rendered, tragic tale that speaks to the struggles of women trying to find their places in society.

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September 15, 2021
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake brought devastation for many and, for some, opportunity. George Sterling, aspiring poet and bookkeeper for a real-estate company, was tasked with transforming Carmel, California, into an artists' colony. While he tried to convince the likes of Jack London and Upton Sinclair to buy property there with hikes and oyster bakes, his wife, Carrie, labored as a constant, often exhausted hostess. One visitor, Nora May French, a lovely and talented writer and poet, became their long-time guest and one of George's mistresses. When Nora died in their home of an apparent suicide by cyanide, the story generated national headlines. Life in Carmel among its bohemian artists is a captivating subject, but Prendergast deepens it by entering the narrative to relay the difficulties she encountered researching Carrie and Nora, two fascinating women whose lives were largely buried in archives devoted to the men in their circle. At times awash in shifting details, ultimately Prendergast's vivid history offers a sobering take on a romanticized time and place in which the men were lauded while the women were nearly erased.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2021

Poet Nora May French (1881-1907) is perhaps best known for her death by cyanide poisoning, but this thoroughly researched biography by Prendergast (English, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Buying into English) instead reports on the writer's complicated life. French had many failed romantic relationships, including some with married men; several abortions; and strained friendships with other writers. Prendergast focuses particularly on these friendships, especially French's involvement with the married couple George and Carrie Sterling. Each chapter of the book begins with a story about Nora or Carrie and ends with Prendergast's take on how the story's events unfolded. Informed by poems and letters, and conversations with librarians, archivists, and historians, Prendergast pieces together French's life. Many of French's letters were archived under the names of her more famous boyfriends, which spurs Prendergast to discuss other forgotten women who may also be lost in the archives. Literary scholars will recognize some of the many other figures who appear in this Gilded-Age biography, like Jack London. Interspersed with excerpts of French's poems, Prendergast gives readers an inside look at what went on behind the writing. VERDICT This well-organized biography reads almost like historical fiction; readers are reminded that this is a true story when Prendergast inserts her witty intellectual commentary.--Natalie Browning, Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA

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