No Regrets

The Life of Edith Piaf

“Sympathetic . . . captivating . . . highly effective.” -Graham Robb, New York Review of Books   “Concise and gracefully written. . . . Burke surveys all [Piaf’s] mayhem with thoughtfulness and respect.” -James Gavin, New York Times Book Review   The iconic French singer comes to life in this enthralling, definitive biography, which captures Edith Piaf's immense charisma along with the time and place that gave rise to her unprecedented international career.   Raised by turns in a brothel, a circus caravan, and a working-class Parisian neighborhood, Piaf began singing on the city's streets, where she was discovered by a Champs-Elysees cabaret owner. She became a star almost overnight, seducing Paris's elite and the people of its slums in equal measure with her powerful, passionate voice. No Regrets explores her rise to fame and notoriety, her tumultuous love affairs, and her struggles with drugs, alcohol, and illness, while also drawing on new sources to enhance our knowledge of little-known aspects of her life. Burke demonstrates how, with her courage, her incomparable art, and her universal appeal, "the little sparrow" endures as a symbol of France and a source of inspiration to entertainers worldwide.   Carolyn Burke is the author of Lee Miller: A Life and Becoming Modern: The Life of Mina Loy. She has taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz and Davis and at universities in France and Australia, where she was born. She now lives in California.