Anka Muhlstein (born 1935) is a historian and biographer.

Early life

Muhlstein was born to

Anatol Mühlstein Anatol Mühlstein (22 August 1889 – 29 September 1957) was a Polish diplomat and writer. He served as Chargé d'affaires for the Polish embassy in Brussels in 1927, and as Minister Plenipotentiary for the Polish embassy in Paris 1930–36. Bo ...

and Diane de Rothschild in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1935. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she stayed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

before returning to France in 1945. She was married to François Dujarric de la Rivière, an investment adviser in Paris and son of and René Dujarric de la Rivière, with whom she had two sons, Robert and Stéphane Dujarric. In March 1974, she married

Louis Begley Louis Begley (born Ludwik Begleiter; October 6, 1933) is a Polish-born Jewish American novelist. He is best known for writing the semi-autobiographical Holocaust novel ''Wartime Lies'' (1991) and the ''Schmidt'' trilogy: ''About Schmidt'' (1996 ...

, a lawyer and author, and moved back to New York with her two sons.

Career

Muhlstein has been honored twice by the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

's prize for history, for her biographies on her ancestor

James de Rothschild James de Rothschild may refer to: * James de Rothschild (politician) (1878–1957), French-born British politician and philanthropist * James Mayer de Rothschild James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 M ...

, the founder of the

De Rothschild Frères The Rothschild banking family of France (french: Famille banquière Rothschild) is a French banking dynasty founded in 1812 in Paris (at the time in the First French Empire) by James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868). James was sent there from ...

, and the eighteenth century explorer

Cavelier de La Salle A cavalier was a supporter of the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cavalier may also refer to: * Cavalier poets of the English Civil War Poet * Cavalier Parliament (1661–1679), Restoration Parliament * Cavalryman * Palad ...

. Muhlstein received the

Goncourt prize The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

in 1996 for biography for her work on the French writer Astolphe de Custine called ''A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine''. Muhlstein 's other works include ''Par les yeux de Marcel Proust'' (1971), ''La Femme Soleil'' (1976), ''Victoria'' (1978), ''

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

'' (1986), ''Reines éphémères, Mères perpétuelles'' (2001), ''Les Périls du Mariage'' (2004), and ''Napoléon à Moscou'' (2007). In 2008, she and her husband Begley released ''

Venice for Lovers ''Venice for Lovers'' is a collection of essays and travel impressions about the city of Venice in Italy, written by Louis Begley and wife Anka Muhlstein. Overview Every year for all the 30 years they have been married, the couple spends long, en ...

'', a collection of essays they individually wrote about

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. Her ''Garcon, un cent d'huîtres'' (''Balzac's Omelet'' in English), a study of the role of

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

in the novels of Balzac, was published in 2010. In 2017, her book, ''The Pen and the Brush: How Passion for Art Shaped Nineteenth-Century French Novels'', was published by Other Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlstein, Anka 1935 births Living people Rothschild family Prix Goncourt de la Biographie winners