Patricia Morrisroe

A stirring and romantic historical novel about nineteenth-century Vienna and the tragedy and dynamic passion that inspired Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Vienna, 1800. Countess Julie Guicciardi's life is about to change forever. The spirited eighteen-year-old is taking piano lessons with Ludwig van Beethoven, the most talented piano virtuoso in the musical capital of Europe. She is captivated by his volatile genius, while he is drawn to her curiosity and disarming candor. Between them, a unique romance. But Beethoven has a secret he's yet to share, and Julie is harboring a secret of her own, one so scandalous it could destroy their perfect love story. When Beethoven discovers the truth, he sets his emotions to music, composing a mournful opus that will become the Moonlight Sonata. The haunting refrain will follow Julie for the rest of her life. Set against the rich backdrop of nineteenth-century Vienna, The Woman in the Moonlight is an exhilarating ode to eternal passion. An epic tale of love, loss, rivalry, and political intrigue. A stirring portrait of a titan who wrestled with the gods and a woman who defied convention to inspire him.

The Woman in the Moonlight

Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most famous and controversial figures in the contemporary art world. Some of his photographs were praised for their startlingly beautiful composition, others condemned for their explicit sexuality. He was an artistic enigma. In 1989, three months after Mapplethorpe's death at forty-two, the Corcoran Gallery of Art canceled a show of his work, igniting a fierce battle over federal funding of "objectionable" art. When the exhibit arrived in Cincinnati a year later, the Center for Contemporary Art and its director were ordered to stand trial on obscenity charges - the first time a gallery in the United States faced prosecution for the art it displayed. In this remarkable biography, Patricia Morrisroe chronicles Mapplethorpe's singular life and the development of his unique art against the background of American culture during the sixties, seventies, and eighties.

Mapplethorpe: A Biography reveals a life even more daring than the photographer's art. Selected by Mapplethorpe to write his story, Patricia Morrisroe conducted numerous interviews with the artist before his death, as well as with hundreds of people who knew him during the different periods of his life. Powerful and provocative, Mapplethorpe is the definitive biography of one of America's most celebrated photographers.

a biography

Mapplethorpe

The brilliant photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989) was one of the most infamous figures of the contemporary art world. Patricia Morrisroe, drawing on the numerous interviews she conducted with him and those who know him, has written a remarkable biography that reveals a life even more daring than his art.

A Biography

The author travels the globe interviewing hundreds of people in search of answers to why she and millions of other Americans have trouble sleeping.

A Memoir of Insomnia

Wide Awake

Describes the photographer's intensely private life, his personal relationships, the evolution of his seminal photographic art, and his battle with AIDS

Shoes tell compelling stories, and Patricia Morrisroe, a long-time shoe lover, has a vivid memory of the confirmation 'wedgies' that celebrated her entrance to adulthood; the granny boots that marked her first love; and the New Balance sneakers she bought her elderly mother who was losing her balance and too proud to use a walker. Weaving anecdotes with titbits of cultural history, Morrisroe offers an insightful memoir on the zeitgeist of the shoe through the decades, as well as hilarious portraits of the unforgettable characters who shared her journey.

My Life in Shoes

9 1/2 Narrow

With Robert Mapplethorpe's full endorsement and encouragement, Morrisroe interviewed more than three hundred friends, lovers, family members, and critics to form this definitive biography of America's most censored and celebrated photographer. “Eventually I found several hundred people who knew Robert Mapplethorpe in all his various incarnations—Catholic schoolboy; ROTC cadet; hippie; sexual explorer; celebrated artist; and famous AIDS victim. Their stories helped animate his pictures and bring his visual diary to life. What I discovered wasn’t one “Perfect Moment” but a series of moments—some pure, some blemished, but all emblematic of the paradoxical times in which he lived.”—Patricia Morrisroe, from the Introduction NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.

A funny, poignant coming-of-age memoir told through the shoes that she wore. From baby booties to orthopedic brogues (and all the high and low heels in between) shoes mark important rites of passage, reminding us of both the good and bad times: the road not taken, the prince that got away, the missed opportunities, the traveling, the fun. Most of all, they bring to mind the people we’ve loved and sometimes lost along the way. Combining tidbits of cultural history, Morrisroe chronicles her life as a bullied Catholic schoolgirl in “Moby Dick” brogues; a besotted college student in granny boots; an aspiring journalist in Annie Hall oxfords; a skeptical bride in her first Manolos; a reluctant fashionista in towering peep-toe pumps; and a concerned daughter, whose elderly mother hoped that her New Balance sneakers would help her regain her old balance. With wit and compassion, she introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, from her grandfather, who treated the family to legendary foot rubs, to her husband, whose vast collection of vintage Puma sneakers threatened to overwhelm their apartment and derail their marriage. Morrisroe’s “coming-of-age” is, at its heart, the story of a generation of women who’ve enjoyed a world of freedom and opportunity that was unthinkable to their mothers. Spanning five decades and countless footwear trends, 9 ½ Narrow is, like Love, Loss and What I Wore, about how we remember important events through a coat, or a dress, or in this case, a Beatle boot or Confirmation “wedgie.” With her charming sense of humor and irresistible voice, Morrisroe not only recounts her own story but also everywoman’s. Funny, candid and unexpectedly poignant, 9 ½ Narrow is about how we grow up, grow older, and finally grow into our own shoes.

Patricia Morrisroe

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