Peggy
Many readers know the first and last chapters of Peggy Guggenheim’s life—that she was born into the wealthy Guggenheim family and that she established a gallery in Venice, open to the public today. They will have little idea of the trials and joys along the way. Rebecca Godfrey, with the help of Leslie Jamison, has filled in those gaps, imagining a captivating life and rendering it in the form of an autobiography.
Until Peggy opens a gallery, she leads the life of a poor little rich girl, growing up with a preoccupied mother and a distant father. At an early age, she foresees tragedies, which turn out to be the death of her father on the Titanic and less well-known sorrows. She marries Laurence Vail, who abuses her mind and body, staying with him too long, then takes on a succession of lovers. Godfrey captures the settings of Peggy’s life, including New York’s Upper East Side, Paris, the French Riviera, and Venice. In these locations, Peggy encounters famous characters, most prominently Emma Goldman, Samuel Beckett, and Man Ray. Godfrey does not attempt to document every year of Peggy’s life, but rather concentrates, wisely, on key events that shaped her personality. Tragically, Godfrey died after completing a draft of the first two-thirds of the novel and detailed notes for the final third. Leslie Jamison deftly completed Godfrey’s work. As a result, the last years of Peggy’s life are more of a sketch than a complete story. That does not diminish the power of the book.
As a reader, I found it hard to like Peggy or to fully understand her transition from victim to entrepreneur, but I found her consistently intriguing. The evocative writing and interior dialog pulled me into her story, holding my attention until the end.
