Two days before her death Isadora was persuaded to begin
writing her Russian experiences by her friend Mary Desti ; after three pages were written Isadora threw them into her friend's lap, saying : " Here, you know the rest of my life as well as I do. Write it yourself. I will not do another line." It is certain, therefore, that Mary Desti wrote with an intimate knowledge of Isadora Duncan, but somehow or other Isadora Duncan's End (Gollancz, 15s.) is disappointing. After My Life and Isadora Duncan's Russian Days and Her Last Years in France we have learnt to expect something vivid, moving and absorbing in a book written by, or about, Isadora. Here we are told almost too exciting and nerve-shattering a story, but we are given no fresh light on this extraordinary woman's temperament. Though the story of her tragic marriage to Essenin is related in greater detail than heretofore, it is no easier for us to understand the fascination whidi this Russian poet held for her. We can only feel even more certain than we did before reading this book that Isadora's actions were governed by her instinct, and that she made practically no attempt to rationalize them either to herself or to anyone else.
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