Benita Eisler

Benita Eisler (born July 24, 1937, in New York City)[1] is an American writer and educator. She is best known for her biographies of historic figures, including Lord Byron, Georgia O'Keeffe, and George Catlin.

Personal life

Eisler was born July 24, 1937, in New York City to Morris Aaron and Frances Blitzer.[1] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1958 and a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1961.[1] On June 23, 1961, she married Colin Eisler, and together, they have one daughter.[1]

Eisler presently lives in Manhattan.[2]

She is Jewish.[1]

Career

From 1975 to 1978, Eisler served as producer to WNET-TV, a public television station in New York City.[1] She has also "worked as an art editor, reporter, on-camera correspondent, and producer of arts programming for [public] television."[3]

Eisler edited The Lowell Offering, which was released in 1977. She published her first book, Class ACT, in 1983.

She has also taught nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature at Princeton University.[3]

Awards and honors

Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame received a starred review from Booklist.[4] Naked in the Marketplace received starred reviews from Booklist[5] and Kirkus Reviews, who highlighted the way "Eisler skillfully incorporates much correspondence within a frame of lively writing."[6]

Awards for Eisler's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
1991 O’Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography Finalist [7]
1999 Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography Finalist [8]
2013 The Red Man’s Bones: George Catlin, Artist and Showman Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography Finalist [9][10]

Publications

As author

  • Class ACT: America's Last Dirty Secret (1983)
  • Private Lives: Men and Women of the Fifties (1986)
  • O'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance (1991)
  • Byron: Child Of Passion, Fool Of Fame (1999)
  • Chopin's Funeral (2003)
  • Naked in the Marketplace: The Lives of George Sand (2004)
  • The Red Man's Bones: George Catlin, Artist and Showman (2013)

As editor

  • The Lowell Offering: Writings by New England Mill Women (1840-1945) (1977)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Eisler, Benita 1937-". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  2. ^ "Benita Eisler". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  3. ^ a b "Benita Eisler". Counterpoint Press. 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  4. ^ "Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame". Booklist. 1999-03-15. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  5. ^ "Naked in the Marketplace: The Lives of George Sand". Booklist. 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  6. ^ "Naked in the Marketplace". Kirkus Reviews. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  7. ^ "1991 Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Biography Winner and Nominees". Awards Archive. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  8. ^ "1999 Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Biography Winner and Nominees". Awards Archive. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  9. ^ "2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Biography Winner and Nominees". Awards Archive. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  10. ^ Hoffert, Barbara (2014-02-21). "Finalists Announced for Los Angeles Times Book Prizes". Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-09-13.