Indiana University Press blog

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"Starring Madame Modjeska is based on very solid archival research, yet it is written with lightness and grace—qualities inspired by the character of the formidable protagonist of this excellent book." —Slavic Review

Book review: Performing South Africa's Truth Commission

"Cole’s remarkable book distinguishes itself because it is the only such project to focus attention on the ‘performed dimensions’ of the TRC." —Contemporary Theater Review

'Starring Madame Modjeska' recieves the Heldt Prize

We are pleased to announce Starring Madame Modjeska by Beth Holmgren has won the Heldt Prize! This award is given by the Association for Women in Slavic Studies to the best book in Slavic/Eastern European/Eurasian Women's Studies.

The award will be presented during an official ceremony at the ASEEES convention in New Orleans Friday, November 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

To learn more about Starring Madame Modjeska, please visit the IU Press website.

Author event: Beth Holmgren to lecture at the University of Toronto

Beth Holmgren, author of Starring Madame Modjeska, will give a lecture about her book at the University of Toronto March 8. The University of Toronto's Polish Language & Literature Program will sponsor the event, and it will be held in Father Madden Hall in St. Michael's College from 6 to 9 p.m. Visit University of Toronto's website to learn more about the event. 

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"[A] fastidiously researched and fascinating portrayal of an actor’s life. ... While theater enthusiasts will enjoy the care and detail that Beth Holmgren took with Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland in America, readers of history will appreciate the role this woman played on the world’s stage. It makes for great drama." —NewPages

Book review: Starring Madame Modjeska

"Starring Madame Modjeska offers insight into not only the prodigious life of a captivating actress who crafted her own unique romantic acting style as well as her public persona; it also provides a colorful portrait of the nineteenth-century theatre." —Cosmopolitan Review

New book traces life of actress Helena Modrzejewska

On this day in 1840, actress Helena Modrzejewska was born in Krakow, Poland. She is the subject of a new biography by Beth Holmgren. In Starring Madame Modjeska, Holmgren traces Modjeska's fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a star in both Poland and America, and finally to her enduring legacy.

After enjoying a successful acting career in Poland, Modrzejewska emigrated to southern California in 1876. Within a year she made her debut in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur at San Francisco's California Theatre. She changed her name to Modjeska and quickly became a leading star on the American stage, where she reigned for the next 30 years. During this time, she established herself as America's most esteemed Shakespearean actress, playing opposite such celebrated actors as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore.

Read more about Helena Modjeska

Book review: Performing South Africa’s Truth Commission

"In this beautifully constructed and densely argued volume, Cole attends to actors, scripts, and audiences, and also to the literary and artistic renderings that carried the TRC hearings to a nation and to the world." —Interventions

Two IU Press books receive IPPY Awards

We are pleased to announce that two IU Press books are winners in this year's Independent Publisher Book Awards! Indiana Barns by Marsha Williamson Mohr tied for silver in the Great Lakes Regional Non-Fiction category and Albee in Performance by Rakesh H. Solomon took bronze in the Performing Arts category. The winners were honored at a gala awards ceremony held in New York on May 23.

Established in 1996, the "IPPY" Awards seek to recognize great titles published by independent authors and publishers. Its regional awards recognize those titles with the best regional focus. To learn more about the award, please visit the Independent Publisher website.

IU Press author to speak at Washington and Lee University

Beth Holmgren, author of the forthcoming book Starring Madame Modjeska, will speak on "Framing Polish Jews: What Happens When Film Usurps Reality" on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. 

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information on the event, visit the Rockbridge Weekly website. 

Beth Holmgren is the author of several IU Press books, including Women’s Works in Stalin’s Time and Russia, Women, Culture. She is Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Theatre Studies at Duke University.