Isadora, generally regarded as the founder of modern dance, was ageing (nearly fifty) and down on her luck when she wrote her memoirs in 1927, and she died in a car accident before she had time to finish them. They are "inspirational" and sometimes mawkish in style, but undoubtedly she lived a remarkable life and travelled a long way (in every sense) from San Francisco, where she was born. International fame as a dancer and "emancipated woman", notable lovers including Gordon Craig and Singer, the sewing machine millionaire, friendships with artistic celebrities ranging from Cosima Wagner to d'Annunzio, a hectic social life, all make up a rich tapestry in spite of the often inept, sketchy writing and the intellectual naivete. Tragedy dogged Isadora Duncan before her own horrible death; her two children were drowned in the Seine and her divorced husband, the poet Esenin, committed suicide.