Savage Beauty

The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay

By: Nancy Milford

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Savage Beauty is the portrait of a passionate, fearless woman who obsessed America even as she tormented herself.

If F. Scott Fitzgerald was the hero of the Jazz Age, Edna St. Vincent Millay, as flamboyant in her love affairs as she was in her art, was its heroine. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Millay was dazzling in the performance of herself. Her voice was likened to an instrument of seduction, and her impact on crowds and on men was legendary. Yet beneath her studied act, all was not well.

Milford calls her book “a family romance" - for the love between the three Millay sisters and their mother was so deep as to be dangerous. As a family, they were like real-life Little Women, with a touch of Mommie Dearest.

Nancy Milford was given exclusive access to Millay’s papers, and what she found was an extraordinary treasure. Boxes and boxes of letters flew back and forth among the three sisters and their mother - and Millay kept the most intimate diary, one whose ruthless honesty brings to mind Sylvia Plath.

Written with passion and flair, Savage Beauty is an iconic portrait of a woman’s life.

©2001 Nancy Winston Milford (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

A good accounting… 3.7

Many details from Edna St. Vincent Millay’s life The book is In chronological order based on Vincent’s and other’s journals & correspondence and in coordination with her sister Nancy who luckily saved everything regarding Vincent. Some of her poetry shared at appropriate times. I think having a different voice for the poems and a unique voice also for the words from her letters/journals would have made it more coherent and enjoyable. ‘Savage’ in the title is a great word to describe the book and a life lived.

Thorough ~

Another review described this work as thorough, and that seems correct.

2-3x is helpful to get through the long explications of opiate addiction, age, and illness in the final chapters.

Greater emotional clarity about Millay's take on her own propaganda work would have been welcome.

A final "summary" or "peer review" chapter would also have been welcome.

It's a fine enough laying out of a full life and provides meaningful insight into Millay's Poetry.

Fascinating life

I have enjoyed Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poetry for many years, but knew little of her life. During her lifetime, however, it appears the reverse was true for her contemporary audience. The biography is an excellent portrait of a woman who lived by her own rules at a time when this was simply not done. Her story is ultimately tragic, as is true for so many artists. It is well written and researched. My only criticism is that it is too long.

A vivid story from another century

The author includes a lot of poetry in the text, so that you can understand how very beautiful Millay’s work continues to be. We also get substantial quotes from her correspondence, which funny, emotional, and sharp. It brings you close to the subject, as you can hear her own voice. Another component is the ongoing conversation between the author and Millay’s youngest sister, which bridges past and present. A very satisfying narrative.

Glad to have read it!

So glad to have read this, having known very little if anything about Edna St. Vincent Millay. Her poetry seems to be the way she communicated best even to her own family who could not otherwise understand her lifestyle. She pushed her way into what was then considered to be an ill fit for a woman’s profession and admirably didn’t back down ever. She boldly applied for scholarship to Vassar to study and was granted it, and soon was recognized nationally for her published works which earned her a Pulitzer Prize in poetry with big publishing houses making offers and she smartly demanded big advances. She was quite the trailblazing student with a rebellious streak as she frequently challenged the rules of the college and stood her ground. A modern feminist she wrote some beautiful pieces which are still very relevant. Her opinions in the 1920’s about women’s equality did not fall on deaf ears, and she then freely spoke out against the US involvement in WWII. Her opinions were bold for the time. Involved in an automobile accident/mishap left her with a lifetime of back pain and an unfortunate addiction to pain relieving medication which led to a few breakdowns during her lifetime. I am so glad to have read this book and look forward to exploring her writings.