Cleopatra's Nose

Cleopatra''s Nose is an exuberant gathering of essays and profiles representing twenty years of Judith Thurman''s celebrated writing particularly her fascination with human vanity femininity and women''s work—from haute couture to literature to commanding empires. The subjects are iconic (Jackie the Brontës Toni Morrison Anne Frank) and multifarious (tofu and performance art pornography and platform shoes kimonos and bulimia); all inspire dazzling displays of craft wit penetration and intelligence. Here we find explorations of voracity: hunger for sex food experience and transcendence; see how writers from Flaubert to Nadine Gordimer have engaged with history; meet eminent Victorians and the greats of fashion. Whether reporting on hairstyles strolling the halls of power or deftly unpacking novels and their writers Thurman never fails to provoke inspire captivate and enlighten. Cleopatra''s Nose is an embarrassment of riches from one of our great literary journalists.